


The Dumb Dog and His Master

by darlingjongin



Category: offgun
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Bickering, Blood and Injury, Eventual Smut, Fantasy, Fighting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hate to Love, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Swearing, Witches, medieval era, mild violence/gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingjongin/pseuds/darlingjongin
Summary: Off Jumpol was an orphan punished to be a servant to the Young Master of the Phunsawat Household after causing trouble. Gun Atthaphan, the eldest son, was a spoilt brat but also one of the best in swordsmanship, landing himself the title of the Silver Beast at the young age of twenty one. With the unrest of the kingdom and a growing threat from beyond the waters, lucky for him, his servant was a witch’s son with magic flowing through his veins.
Relationships: Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn/Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat
Comments: 9
Kudos: 58





	1. A Dumb Dog Gets Thrown Out.

**Author's Note:**

> low-key inspired by the TV series Merlin, so it might feel similar in some aspects.
> 
> **warning for this chapter:** violence, blood, mentions of brothels, mentions of starvation, fighting.

_**Beginning: a dumb dog gets thrown out** _

Off Jumpol got thrown out of the brothel he had lived in since he was twelve. The orphanage sent him to work for the owner to be the cleaner of the stenches and sewers beside the building. He was thin, starved from a young age to the point where his rib cage could be seen, but the owner thought he would still be of good use, shoving a sponge and a bucket of water in his small pasty arms, telling him to clean the sewers and wash the sheets. At the age of twelve, he did as he was told, cleaning the streets and sewers around the building, yet he was never allowed inside the building ad slept outside in one of the sheds where they kept the gardening tools and sacks of soil.

By the time he reached fifteen, he had an inkling of an idea as to what business his master had, but he kept his mouth shut, not because he wasn’t brazen. An orphan like him didn’t have anything, not even dignity or his own clothes, so his voice was all he had, and he ended up using it rather ferociously, shouting to the customers who dared laid a hand on one of the girls, beating them to a pulp with his broom. Unfortunately, not all the customers they had were filthy commoners, some of them were ravished in gold, silver plates, medals pinned to their linen shirts and a belly full of wine and other luxuries he probably could never lay his hands on, so when such customers strode into the building, the owner would kick him out before he caused any trouble, throwing him down the stairs until his skin was grazed and bleeding, commanding him not to make any trouble.

At the age of sixteen, he found something frightening about himself as he spent the night outside on the cold streets. The brothel was hired by a commander from the other kingdom passing through and with Off’s hero complex, he begged the owner for him to keep an eye. The girls had become rather fond of the young man, saving a little of their tips to give to him, or even making him a warm meal after his long day of work, so like his mother taught him, he vowed he’d protect them from filthy bloodied hands. But the owner’s eyes was transfixed on the sack of gold and threw him out of the front entrance, his body tumbling down the stares and his cheeks cut and bleeding.

‘STAY THE HELL AWAY UNTIL OUR COMMANDER IS DONE!’, his owner shouted at him before closing the door, letting the dry dust stain his open scars, the poor thin boy sitting on the dirt road, looking down at his scratched and grazed palms. But that wasn’t what surprised him.

His blood had turned golden.

He’d bled so many times that it didn’t faze him at the sight of something red trickling down his skin, but the red had started shining a mesmerising colour that didn’t exist, something in between gold and turquoise. He was scared at first, feared that the owner had cursed him with a spell, standing up and running across town, begging for help.

‘What are you screaming about boy? It’s just some blood’, an old man closing his shop shouted back, annoyed at his rash and loud voice, kicking him out of the way, ‘You should know what blood looks like by now’

Off looked down on his bloodied hands again, not sure if he had taken too much hit to the head to see red turn into a completely different colour, because when he looked down, it was still shining, illuminating like the moonlight when it hits the surface of the river.

Off looked like a madman, screaming for help whilst the other townspeople raised a discerning brow at him, shutting their windows and doors, ignoring his yelps until he was crying, his cheeks all red and eyes swollen. He knelt on the ground once more, looking down at his hands. He was in the empty road, the dark skies shading the town into darkness with only lamps from inside the houses illuminating the streets.

‘A witch in such a boring place? Who’d have thought’

Off heard a small hissing sound, a voice of an old woman and when he wiped his tear filled eyes, he saw a shadow resting beside his.

‘Hello?’, he asked, turning around in hopes to see who the shadow belonged to. But the frightful matter was that, he was still alone in the streets, with no a passing human beside him. He tumbled on his hands, fear coursing through his expression when he looked down to find the shadows still present, ‘Where are you?’

‘I’m right here darling’, her voice was in fact hoarse and old, yet gentle and high pitched, so she definitely was an old lady. Off, hands still shaking, squinted his eyes to see the shadow better. From the shapes, she had a hunched back, her arms thin like branches, ‘I didn’t think I’d see a fellow witch during my passing’

‘Witch?’, Off repeated the words, and it felt bitter in his mouth, like a rotten fruit shoved down his throat, ‘Who are you?’

‘Someone who needs to come here and fetch you. Darling, look at your blood, you’re not just any witch…’, her voice was starting to be faint, as if the wind was brushing her to disappear and with just a few seconds, her shadow started to slowly disappear.

‘Wait… Wait, where are you going?’, Off asked, reaching his hand out on the ground in an attempt to grab the shadow, but of course it just slipped through his hands, dissipating like leaves during Autumn.

‘Stay hidden, but stay close. I’ll come and fetch you’, was the last thing the voice said before he was once again left alone in his own demise, his blood now dried and stiff on his skin.

The voice did not return until he was eighteen and a scoundrel. Off Jumpol had pushed the haunting memories of his youth in one corner of his mind and continued to work to live, cleaning the brothel and pleasing his master with passive affairs with the customers, his head bowing and greeting them instead of fighting.

He still cared for the girls who ended up raising him. He sold his service of manual labour to the rest of the town, carrying water from the lake, building houses and even storing fresh fruits and meat to the market, so he had saved up enough money over the coming years to give to the girls, earning them their freedom as they escaped the constraints of the brothel one by one.

Angela, Trudy, Cassy, Olive and Peach, although not their real names, were the girls who took him under their wings, protecting and caring for him, feeding him and telling him stories as he slept on their silk beds. With the copper and gold he earned since he was twelve, he found no use for them other than to give them to the girls until they had enough to throw at the owner, quitting one by one and packing their belongings in a small sack, clutching their hands together and promising to run away somewhere far. They still had spare gold to make a new life and they had begged Off to come with them, to continue to be their diligent son and friend, but Off remembered the old woman’s voice from two years ago and despite his wishes to forget what happened, he couldn’t help but hope that the shadow would return to him.

No one had ever waited for him. He was an orphan, tossed to the side and left for dead most of the time, and for someone to promise him of their return, to tell him that he was important enough to go back to, he had to hold on some hope. So, he kissed their cheeks and beckoned them to leave before the owner changed his mind, his hollow and wrinkled cheeks sunk into itself, making him look like a ghost biding his time in the mortal realm before his final demise.

He never saw them again, but that was a good thing.

What he saw however, was a young woman, beautiful and president in nature when he was finally thrown out of the brothel after the owner found out he’d been saving up more money in freeing the other girls. His shirt was ripped, skin bruised and scarred from the hits, bleeding as he was thrown down the stairs one last time.

‘What sad waste of a witch blood’, the beautiful young woman tuts, shaking her head as she took off her sheer mask which hung from her straw hat, ‘You shouldn’t allow yourself to bleed so much’, she warned him, kicking his leg and beckoning him to stand up.

‘Who are you?’

‘Who am I?’, she laughed, loud and bellowing which caused attention from passer by as they turned their head to watch a woman standing in front of the steps of the brothel with a poor orphan boy by her feet.

‘Probably another luxurious woman trying to buy an orphan boy as her servant’, the townspeople tutted in disapproval but did nothing to stop it. The woman was dressed in beautiful silk, one which did not come from their own market but was hand made by the best seamstress, and only the rich can indulge in such useless extravagant, so they had no rights to shout at her to leave the boy alone.

‘It took me two years to persuade the council to take you in as my apprentice’, she sighed, feeling slightly dejected at the long process of boring meetings and useless argument, but the council must now, no one had tried to deny Godji of anything she wants, so in the end, they were forced to nod their head and send her on her way to fetch the troubled half blood, ‘I’m sorry it took me so long, but I’m here now. And we can begin training once you get washed and cleaned. I’m not having my apprentice look like that’

* * *

Godji was a witch. She was also part of the council, an unknown realm of society hidden in the cracks of the humans where they discuss their secrecy and troubling matters. She had no royal blood to be part of such a prestigious council, but her powers were more wealthy in strength and size, so she welcomed her own way into the circular table of gold and turquoise amongst the millennial old witches.

She was also unorthodox in her teaching, allowing half bloods to enter into the realm under her care and protection which shook the realm in two and almost causing a war, but her dear friend Jennie, who was much more diplomatic in such things, had brilliantly persuaded the war to end before it even began, under the condition that these half bloods will not be allowed to set foot in the realm and are only allowed to practice magic under the supervisions of their mentor. The human world was worthless, even more so now that kingdoms toss their kings and queens, usurper with no royal or magical blood sitting on the thrones that had been moulded by the witches themselves when they were in equal service with the humans. There was little magical barrier in the human world, so practicing magic there was deemed useless since they couldn’t bring out the true potentials of each spells.

Godji was livid, turning the council table upside down in rage but in the end having to agree to avoid blood shed. Witch’s blood was too important to wage war and she didn’t wanna stoop low to the human’s alternatives, so she passed through the human world, disguising herself as small creatures or even shadows, travelling around the world to find a half blood with as much power as a normal witch to prove to the council wrong and to allow the half bloods to live in the realm of the witches.

Her search was made futile when each of her apprentice would choose to stay in the human world, to be with their families or loved ones, sometimes they would denounce their witch blood and pretend that they never heard of their powers. Their human sides were stubborn and stupid, but even more so, the glory filled eyes of those who wished to stay by her side, died tragic deaths of attempted heroism which she scoffed and rolled her eyes over. They had tried to save the unsaved and ended up killing their own self and spilling such precious blood on the ground.

But she wasn’t heartless. Sometimes she would visit the resting place of her fallen apprentices, seeing the bright green fields which grew from the waters of their blood, traces of glimmering flowers blooming every spring, enriching the creatures so that they may live longer. It was truly a sight to see and it burdened her heart that she had allowed them to fall from grace just like that.

She was close to giving up, accepting that council’s decision, when she found a weeping young boy crying about his blood. He was just like any other half blood she’s seen, but there was something else hidden in his eyes, grievance and pain. He was a young boy in need to guidance and Godji wanted to be just that.

Too bad she’d already made such a bad impression on the council that it took her years to have their permission before she set out of reunite with the same boy. This time, she noticed he was much taller, his skin pale and hair matted and long – weeks of not being washed or cut – his clothes were small on him, stained in mud and shit with a small sack of his belongings.

‘Come with me’, she said, reaching her hand out for him to take, ‘As long as you follow my rules, you’ll be safe with me’

Off, who at this point, had nowhere else to go, couldn’t believe that the old shadow was actually a beautiful woman, but with the rest of his energy, he stretched his arm out, whining as he held onto her warm hands, picking himself up and dusting his bloodied shorts.

‘So, what shall I call my apprentice?’

* * *

_**Three Years Later** _

‘OFF JUMPOL!’

The young witch ran as fast as he could through the forest with a sack of apples and oranges he stole from Jennie’s tree, running from his master’s boisterous screams. He laughed when he passed Godji’s security spell, countering it with his own disarming charm that Jennie secretly taught him.

The young witch, now a man of twenty-one, had become fuller and richer in life. He had food presented on his table every morning, afternoon and evening, warm and freshly made by his new master. They stayed cleared from humans, living in the middle of the forest in a small house hidden by spells so no passer by would ever notice, but they were still close enough to the town so they could buy food and silk for Godji’s growing dress collection that she’s been obsessed with over the years.

Off, who had finally grown in size, his bones no longer protruding from his skin, wished to share his sudden blessings to the people around him, so he would steal Jennie’s enchanted fruits which would give someone a full stomach for three whole days, passing it to beggars on the streets and gifting them to the workers with sweet beading down their neck and chapped lips from the heat of the day.

Godji hated him for it, punishing him. He would be hit with her books and forced to repeat her chants until he had mastered it – which was easier said then done – since her chants was a mastering of words, stringing together ballads that didn’t make sense and only made sense to her, Off would always get it wrong and as punishment, his hair would sometimes start blading or his nails would turn green. Her punishment was ludicrous but all the more embarrassing that he couldn’t show his face in town for weeks.

But, as soon as he disappeared from her spells, his feet hit the concrete ground and he found himself back in the human world, where the busy streets were filled with carts being pulled by donkeys, boxes of fruit, weapons and dresses being imported into the market. The smokes filled his lungs and he coughed for a bit. He was no longer used to the bitter stench of human filth thanks to his master, but his orphan years were still evident since he always gets used to the smell.

‘P’Off! P’Off’s here!’, the children beggars hollered as soon as they saw the tall man walking with a sack of fruits that tasted sweeter than heaven. They were weak and sat on the dirty ground, their hands grubby but smiles wide and bright, hopeful now that he had return.

‘How have you all been?’, he asked them sweetly, opening the sack and passing fruits all around the group, ‘I’m sorry I haven’t visited lately. I’ve been working’

‘It’s okay’, they shook their head, ‘At least you always come’, living in the streets, the children never met a nice adult until they saw Off walking through the market for the first time, buying them food and allowing them to taste a hot meal for the first time in their lives.

‘I’ll have to leave soon’, Off warned them, stroking their hair and pulling out a small bottle of fresh water from the river and passing it to them, letting them take a sip one after the other, ‘I’m sorry’

‘It’s okay’, they all muttered under their breathes, too busy to devour the sweet nectar of the oranges.

‘Oh, P’Off, make sure not to go down Dreary Lane’, one of the children called out to him, giving him a warning to avoid the main road leading to a Manor of one of the Generals appointed by the king to take care of the district.

‘What’s to come?’, he asked the little girl.

‘The Masters of the Manor are finally leaving their house to greet the people. The King said they have to show their face to the people so that we’ll be loyal to them’

‘Where did you hear that?’

‘I heard one of the guards talking by the side of the road where I was begging’

‘And what name is their family linage that they get to be appointed to rule such a large district?’, Off asked himself, turning back to watch the busy market come to life with dozens of good being sold. Despite the dirty, the town belonged to the district of merchandise, a land that was responsible for the product of silks, weapons, leather and other things that could be turned into profitable objects, so despite the smoke, it brought it gold, making it one of the richer towns. Such a district much be controlled by one of the King’s favourites.

His master told him never to indulge in human politics, but sometimes he couldn’t help it. He wanted to know who the King and his most loyal subjects were. He wanted to know who was bleeding out the common people’s hands to wove their riches without so much as showing their face unless they were forced.

‘There you are’

‘Ow! Ow! Ow!’, Off whined when he felt a prick on his ear, turning back to see his master dressed in fine silks, her lips painted red and her eyes shadowing the same colour in fury, ‘Master Godji, I can explain’

‘Explain’, she scoffed, dragging her apprentice out of the market and back to the forest, ‘You’re in so much fucking trouble’

‘Master, please, come on, it was just one spell’, Off whined once he felt the soft trudges of grass instead of concrete, his master using her shadows for them to swiftly travel out of the market unseen and back to the forest, ‘Aren’t you proud that I managed to master a disarming spell?’

‘Proud?! Oh, you and Jennie are gonna get it!’, Godji continued to shout, fuming at how her silly and trouble making apprentice managed to outsmart her into running where her security spell was the most weakest – right at the front entrance!

‘Look, it’s not her fault’, Off tried to defend the witch who had decided to live next to them, the beautiful witch only wanting Off to learn as much spells as possible and sometimes teaching Off behind Godji’s back, They both knew that wasn’t allowed, since an apprentice can only learn magic through their master’s teachings, but teaching a half blood was also taboo, so they might as well fuck the rules, right?

‘Jennie Panhan! You better come out! I’m shaving both your hair off!’

‘No! Not my luscious hair!’, Off heard a shout coming from the house beside their’s, a cottage that was covered in vines and streaked with flowers. The kitchen window was opened, and leaning on the window sill was Godji’s best friend and in effect, his somewhat eccentric Auntie, with her lock locks falling to her waist. Her dress, also extravagant as Godji’s hit the floor, hugging her figure and illuminating her beautiful skin more so. She was just as talented as Godji, but not as all fierce and masters in spells of defence rather than attack like his master – which was why Off was able to disarm Godji’s security blanket.

‘The both of you need to be punished!’

‘That boy of yours stole my fruit!’, she shouted in her defence, ‘I’ve been attacked too!’

‘WHY WOULD YOU TEACH HIM YOUR SPELLS IF YOU’RE NOT HIS MASTER!’, Godji howls and with that, strong wind was raised, pushing the leaves off the branches of the trees, the creatures of the forest running away from her voice.

‘He’s your only apprentice which showed signs of potential’, Jennie argued back, still inside her kitchen just in case Godji started attacking her, ‘Shouldn’t it be better that he mastered everything quickly! So we can go back to the council and prove them wrong’

‘Magic takes time’, Godji sighed as she looked at her best friend, ‘We both mastered our powers after three hundred years’

‘I don’t wanna be stuck in the human world for another three hundred years!’, Jennie whined, ‘I wanna go back to my mansion and watch the opera!’

‘Then go back!’

‘And leave my best friend with this scoundrel?!’, she shouted, waving her fingers and letting the glitter of magic escape her fingertips where it landed on top of Off’s head.

All of a sudden, Off’s hearing became phenomenally good and he lifted his hand up, touching where his ears are supposed to be but finding them missing.

‘P’Jennie!’, he shouted when he combed his fingers through his hair, finding flesh where it shouldn’t be, ‘P’Jennie, take these dog ears away from me!’, he shouted. This wasn’t the first time Jennie had compared him to a dog, often judging the way he ate with his mouth open or how his shirt would always stain at the end of every day when he ran around the forest training in the most feral way. He was called a dog for his lack of order and his loud mouth and when he was shouting back at her, Jennie had turned him into a dog for the whole night – which didn’t work in anyone’s favour – since he spent the whole night howling.

‘The pair of you need to follow the rules if we want to prove a millennial long rule! Off, do you want to join us into the magic realm or not?’

‘Of course, I do’, Off whined, his dog ears stooped down, ‘But I wanna help my fellow humans before I go. I wanna know that I left something good in this world’

‘Ooof, he sounds just like how you sounded when we were young’, Jennie chuckled, knowing his best friend got the shit end of the stick when she’s forced to mentor a boy just as boisterous and stuff skinned as she was, even more so, he was ambitious in his generosity and kindness, which was a trait Godji once valued in herself and other people.

‘The pair of you need to know that we do no belong with humans’, Godji sighed when she felt like she was talking to two brick walls, ‘No matter how much we enjoy their entertainment or fine silks, we need to distinguish ourselves between the two. We’ve got important matters in the magic realm and we don’t need any more distraction’

‘They’re not distractions’, Off whined, ‘Godji, I’m still half human. I was raised here, can’t you see that I have some sentiment over this world? Can’t I explore it whilst I still can?’

‘You were given as a slave in a whorehouse and beaten on a regular basis’, Godji turned and looked with wide round eyes at the boy, filled with shock at his kindness despite being treated so poorly, ‘How can you still hold any form of sentiment?’

‘I grew up with others being kind to me too’, Off defended the humans, ‘Their kindness far outweighs their evil’

‘I don’t think so’, Godji shook her head, ‘You’re spending the whole night rewriting the book of magus from start to finish, do you understand?!’

‘Master, please, there’s a festival happening tonight and I wanna see what it’s about’, Off suddenly remembered the homeless child’s warning to him which only strike a fascination in him. He wanted to see the General’s face.

‘No, you’ve had your fun in town, now it’s time for you to go back to your studies’, Godji commanded him, whispering an enchantment that strengthened her security blanket, making Off whine. If he had a tail right now, it would most likely droop in sadness.

‘Master!’

‘Go back to the library Off!’, his master ordered him once last time before she clicked her fingers, disappearing into the shadows and most likely travelling back to the magic realm for business meetings.

‘For a young man, you still act like a child’, Jennie sighed, tutting as she closed her kitchen windows, clicking her fingers to get rid of the dog ears on Off as she left her best friend’s apprentice to attend to himself.

But, of course, Jennie had a soft spot for Off. She saw Godji holding a frail young boy by the hand into the forest and she almost cried at the sight of him. He was bruised and cut, scars climbing all over his skin, his face stained in dirt and his hair matted and dry. She had just finished setting up the cottages in the forest, making sure it was spacious for a young boy to roam around in, giving him a bed and pillowed stuffed with Phoenix feathers, soft and warm in the winter.

She stopped herself from crying as she drew him a hot bath, scrubbing the dried blood mixed with mud, watching Off fall asleep with the feeling of warmth for the first time. She asked Godji why she didn’t save the poor boy sooner, wondering how he survived growing up in such conditions. Jennie’s never had a child nor became a master to anyone, so to see Off’s weak body gradually get better with the food she cooked and prepared for him, she felt warm inside at the sight of the young man running around the fields, chopping up trees for firewood, learning how to read and write for the first time.

_Off Jumpol._

‘That’s my name?’, she remembered Off asking asking when she taught him how to write his own name. She watched his eyes shine bright with filled joy as he wrote his name again and again, ‘My name looks cool’

Jennie could almost cry right then and there.

‘So, when Godji showed no signs of returning, she made her way to her best friend’s cottage, opening the door to find a hint of a small light coming from the library. She could hear Off whispering different chants and spells whilst rewriting the entire book just like Godji had commanded. He was a troublemaker, but he also followed orders and Jennie couldn’t help but laugh.

‘You know, you can use a fast spell and it’ll quickly finish copying the book for you’, she advised as she leaned on the wooden doorframe, crossing her arms as she watched Off sit on his chair with a blanket wrapped around him.

‘What’s the point? I’m stuck here all night with nothing to do, so I might as well drag this out’, Off sighed, stopping as he laid his pen on the table, massaging his aching fingers. He took this moment to look out of his window, watching the branches sway calmly, the moon cut in half yet sitting so perfectly in the skies. Even with a new master who gave him food and a warm bed, he had to be reminded he was still chained, ordered to serve a superior who will always be more powerful and knowledgeable over him. He didn’t know if he was going to taste real freedom soon, but he wished he didn’t have to fight his way out of things anymore.

‘Sanare Contritos’, Jennie whispered, enchanting a spell to stop the aching in his hands as she invited herself into his room, sitting at the edge of the table, reaching her hand out to stroke his hair which was smooth now. She remembered that they had to cut his old hair that was too matted and damaged to salvage with soaps and water and now she saw the hair grow, much healthy now. She realised that some things needed to be cut to the root so a new beginning can grow.

Off Jumpol was their last hope at cutting a old stench rule that have kept the magic realm chained from its true potential and she knew Godji only meant well. But leaving such a fate in a hands of a poor boy who couldn’t even read when she first met him, made her heart ache. The boy was right, he had every right to experience the fun in the world before he takes on such an impressive task.

‘Interficiam Torque’, she whispered and Off heard her, turning his face to look at the witch as she slowly disarmed the security blanket.

‘What’re you doing?’, the young man asked in shock, looking around to see if it was a test or trick, it Jennie smiled and continued to stroke his hair.

‘Godji won’t be back till tomorrow morning’, she reminded him, ‘I don’t know what you’re curious about, but I think you’re allowed to see the festival’

‘Are you serious?’, Off asked, his lips parted but it was turning into a smile when the witch gave him a genuine smile. He stood up from his sit, almost tilting the chair back on the ground as he raced to hug Jennie, pulling her into a warm embrace as he kissed her cheeks, ‘Thank you’, he whispered before he grabbed his coat, buttoning it up as he ran down the stairs.

‘Be home before sunrise!’, Jennie shouted at him.

‘I will!’, he shouted back excitedly, a skip in his steps as he opened the door, ‘I love you P’Jennie!’, he said before he slammed the door behind him, running out of the forest like what he did in the afternoon, letting his shoes scrunch the fallen leaves beneath him.

* * *

The family was named Phunsawat and it consisted of a General most loyal to the King, along with his beautiful and adored wife and two children. His youngest was his joy, a pretty girl with long flowing locks and a beauty which resembled her mother. She was joyous, her voice singing in the halls of the Manor during dinner events and celebrations, her gentleness bowed favour to the common people who was looking for someone to idolise and it solidified their approval of the townspeople when they saw her beauty for themselves, sitting in one of the carriages beside her mother and father, waving fondly at them whilst flowers were thrown at her.

The General’s eldest was his pride, a young man whose looks deceived. He went by the name of Gun Atthaphan. He was short, slender figured and his features were soft, almost as pretty as sister, but his strength was that of a bear and give him a sword, he could kill within an instant. He was the best swordsman amongst the young, second only to his own father who was talented in wielding his sword. He was also gifted in archery and martial arts, often using his soft looks to trap his opposer with fake ease before biting them with his long sword. He was known in the Palace as the Silver Beast, his sword singing when he raised it high above him before piercing his enemy. He had his own carriage, following shortly behind his father, mother and sister. He crossed his arm, barely smiling as he lifted his leg up, ignoring the people’s calls and cheers to him.

He was one of the few who refused to be part of the parade, wondering why his father needed to show his face to such commoners. They didn’t need their loyalty, they were superiors with the strength to protect them, so he didn’t know why they needed to gain their favour when it should just be given to them.

‘What a joke’, he muttered as the guards lit a torch to light up their way back to the Manor going around the town just to show their face. It was dark already, the moonlight shining down on them as they turned to head back to the Manor, townspeople crying in celebrating when boxes of food offering were slowly being handed out to them, dirt hands reaching out desperately to take as much food as they can. Gun couldn’t help but roll his eyes and wish to be done with the festival so he could go home and finish training.

After the King exiled his most loyal General to care for a measly district, Gun was stripped away from the richness of the Palace training field and the luxury of best weapons and blades, so he huffed and puffed before his father ordered him to use his frustration into his training instead, spending weeks on end perfecting his archery and martial arts, but his talents were already up to par anyway, so he would aimlessly walk around the empty halls of the Manor with pure boredom, wishing there was a rebellion or invasion that he may use his talents to good use.

But alas, such a boring district was far from where the threat was.

‘Get away boy! Get away!’, he heard one of the guards pushing a young man, maybe only three or four years older than him, rushing to the front of his carriage with his hands carrying the food offering, yet his face was mean and discontent.

‘Is this all you can give us? Measly food that can barely fill our bellies?!’, the young man shouted, throwing the pile of food on the ground, letting it be trodden by horses and the wheels of their open carriage.

‘Stop’, Gun ordered his driver, who halted immediately in his command, ‘You see what you did?’, he turned to face the young man who was being held by his guards, ‘Now instead of letting these fools stuff the mouths of at least five children, they’re now in the dirt. What type of foolishness are you on?’

‘You think these will win us your favour?’, he spat back, ‘You’re nothing but filth sucking the luxuries off our hard work!’

‘In exchange for protection’, Gun added on, ‘I’m sure if we’re truly useless, then you can deal with invasions from the other Kingdoms’, his voice was calm, juxtaposing the furious voice he was talking to, ‘I can give up my title right now and even hand you my sword’, he yawned at the end of his sentence, stretching his hand out as if he’d just woken up, but unbeknownst to the crowd growing around them, Gun used this opportunity to deceive them, picking up his sword which rested beside him, flailing it high up above until the wind sung with the silver.

The crowd stepped back in fear when he stretched the sword in front of him, letting the tip rest on the young man’s cheeks.

‘What say you?’, Gun asked with a smirk on his face, ‘Can you defeat me with my own sword?’, he threw his sword into the air and spun it around so he was holding the tip between his fingers, the handle facing the young man, ‘Go on, try it’

The young man, who was still held by the guards, look at the sword, breathing heaving as he bit his lip in frustration, knowing he had no power to kill a Master, not with dozens of guards watching him.

‘Go on’, Gun beckoned again, this time, raising his voice impatiently, ‘Or I’ll slash your throat right here and now. What say you?’, he waited for a few more seconds, seeing the anger mixed with fear swim in the man’s eyes and he could only laugh, standing up on his carriage and spinning his sword again, ‘Fine then, look’s like I’ll just have to kill you’

Before he could even raise his sword, he felt s strong wind almost pushing him back and before his eyes, he looked down on his hands which were empty of any weapon.

‘Seize him!’, he guards shouted when they realised their master was in danger, letting go on the young man and running towards the shadow which passed them. The crowd gasped and shouted when Gun’s carriage began to shake, informing him of an intruding jumping inside.

‘Gun Atthaphan!’, he heard his father’s bellowed screams from the carriage in front fo him which had stopped when they realised the growing mess he was creating. They were already ten meters away from him yet he could still hear his furious voice.

‘Threatening a common folk’, he heard a whisper behind his neck, sending shivers down his spine as he turned around to look at a young man standing inside his carriage, holding his sword.

He was the same age as him, but he was much taller, muscular yet his hands were weak with the way he gripped on the handle, so Gun could only smirk, shrugging his shoulder as he kicked the man’s chest, sending him to tumble back as he grabbed his sword with ease, this time pointing the tip on the young man’s neck.

‘I can kill you for intruding into my carriage’, Gun hissed, his eyes glaring at the young man, but unlike the previous commoner, this one was amused at his words, smirking back at him with as much confidence as he held.

‘Try and kill me’, he snickered, ‘Then we’ll see if the people in this town will care enough to follow you. Soon enough you’ll be forced out of your Manor and stripped off your titles for tainting the prestigious name of our king’, he spat out and he spoke in words of wisdom and knowledge, informing Gun that despite his titles, he must’ve received some form of education.

‘Who are you?’, he asked.

‘I’m the man accepting your challenge’

‘What challenge?’

‘To kill you with your own sword’, he replied as he kicked his leg, throwing a punch which surprised Gun, but no enough to throw off his reflexes as he held onto his sword.

The young man, who knew he was at a disadvantaged, used his body instead, spinning on top of the carriage, reaching his hand out to pull one of the guard’s swords from his sides before kicking him out of the way to the ground.

He turned around and he suddenly felt the screech of two metals slamming into each other and within seconds, he was fighting with the young master. Their legs were tight as steel, using the carriage as their fighting ground as they fought with their swords, almost dancing with each other with how well they complimented each other.

But the Silver Beast was no dancer and after a challenge, he managed to get used to the beating of the carriage as it began to move, the horses terrified of the sounds of swords and running immediately, dragging the carriage with them.

The young man was talented, but still average at best, so with one slip motion, Gun had slashed his wrist, forcing him to drop the sword in his hand as he reached out and wrapped his arm around the man’s neck, keeping him in a headlock and pressing the tip to his cheeks until he sae blood.

‘You’re good’, Gun whispered, almost too happily when he felt adrenaline coursing through his veins and the feeling for the first time since they arrived, ‘What’s your name?’

‘None of your business’, the man spat back, trying to push him away, but he only tightened his grip, controlling his airway until the young man was forced to stay still.

‘Son, what on earth is going on?!’, his father shouted, shielding his daughter’s sight with his robes, not wanting her to see the fight as their mother hugged her tightly.

‘I found a ruthless commoner who tried to defied me’, Gun answered his father, showing the young man’s face to him.

‘Send him to the barracks to be punished’, his father shouted, ‘He shall be hanged!’

The crowd gasped again when they heard his orders, shocked and frightened at such a quick judgement, but could they blame him? The young man tore himself from the crowd and tried to kill his eldest son. Surely death was a justifiable punishment.

‘Your Great Excellence!’, the young man gasped under the grips of the eldest son, ‘I can explain! I was only trying to save my fellow-’

‘A commoner’s life is no equal to my son’, the General interrupted him before he could defend himself, waving his hand and ordering the guards to take him away.

‘Your Great Excellence!’

‘Father!’, Gun shouted when he looked around and saw the guards drawing their swords. The adrenaline in his veins slowly started to disappear and he felt an edge of torment when he looked down on the young man and felt his world slowly turning back to the paleness of being sent to the country, ‘Let me buy him!’

‘Excuse me?’, his father glared at him, confused at his son’s sudden suggestion.

‘I cannot be bought’, the man spat out, his saliva landing on his cheeks.

‘Which household are you from?’, Gun asked, ‘What’s your family name?’

‘I don’t have one’

‘Oh, so you’re an orphan?’, Gun chuckled.

‘What’s that got to do with anything? No man should be bought’

‘You have no family to go back to’, Gun reiterated, loosening his grip around his neck but still showing his sword as a threat if he tried running, ‘Father, I’ve been bored over these past couple of weeks. Maybe a servant might keep me company?’

‘He tried to kill you son’

‘And look at him now, under my grips’, Gun showed his parents, ‘I’m sure I can handle a commoner’

‘Why do you want him?’, his father asked, wanting this mess to be over with so they can finish the festival and return to their warm beds and away from the stench.

‘I just do’, Gun shouted back, ‘Let him stay in the Manor. I’ll teach him some manners and he can be of service to me’

‘Are you insane?’, the young man hissed at him, trying to push him back, ‘Just send me on my way and I won’t trouble you’

‘You nearly tried to kill me’, Gun reminded him, ‘You either accept your death sentence or serve under me as punishment’

‘For how long?’

‘However long I like’

‘Like hell I will’

‘Fine’, Gun raised his arms up, ‘I’ll let you hang. Guards! Get him!’

‘Wait!’, the young man tugged on his linen shirt, raising his voice in panic when he saw a crowd of guards garnering up towards him, ‘One year. I’ll serve you for one year then you’ll let me go’

‘I’m not going to negotiate with a criminal’

‘I’m not an orphan. I have a family’, the young man informed, ‘By legal right, you cannot buy me as a servant without the head of my household’s permission’, he told him, ‘My family will only agree for me to serve you for one year’

‘What’s your family name?’

‘Don’t worry’, the young man said to him, ‘My family will come to your Manor in the morning’

‘Son, make up your mind and get a move on! We must finish the festival before sun rise’, his dad shouted at him and Gun looked at the tall young man with as much curiosity as when he first laid eyes on him, ‘Fine, you’re coming back with me and I’ll handle business with your family tomorrow morning. Sit down’, he ordered and the young man had no choice but to follow his orders, nervously biting his lip as he looked up into the sky to see the moon still hung up in the sky but knowing he only had a few more hours before his Master’s return.

‘Master Godji is so gonna kill me’, he whispered to himself when he felt the short young master sit beside him, watching the carriage get a move on as the driver finally tamed the horses to travel back to the big Manor away from the town square.

‘You need to tell me your name, otherwise I’ll just call you servant from now on’, the short young master began to talk to him as if they hadn’t tried to kill each other a few minutes ago. He turned to glare at him, wanting to choke him out there and then for trying to harm an innocent civilian, but all he could do was keep quiet and pray Master Godji was powerful enough to sneak into the Manor to fetch him out.

‘Master Godji, please help’, he whispered, praying that he won’t be tortured during the night before his Master saves him, clasping his hands together and whispering enchantments of numbing just in case the short master was crueller behind closed doors.

He promised never to leave the forest ever again!


	2. A Dumb Dog Gets Punished.

Off Jumpol, the lowly commoner, was sent to sleep on the back of a small windowless room beside the young master’s room. For the first time in three years, he felt the hardness of the floor wood and the coldness of cement walls. It reminded him of his childhood growing up inside the orphanage where he shared a small room with a dozen other kids only to be thrown out and forced to live in a shed whilst he worked for a brothel owner. Those three years in the forest made him forget how painful it was to sleep on the floor ad how his body shivered at the cold, but before he got locked up in the Manor with the spoilt brat holding on his neck, he managed to grab a krachiao flower from the carriage, it’s petal still blooming in colour.

He whispered an enchantment, singing to the flower.

_No witch is unreachable._

Master Godji told him that during his first lessons as her apprentice, making him read the history of a world he didn’t even know still existed. He had heard fairytales about it, being told whilst he slept of a time where humans and witches co-existed in a kingdom of magic and abundance, but he never thought of them to be real, and it wasn’t until he saw Master Godji showing him the spells of levitation did he gleam in wonder at the floating items, his face filled with delight when he saw the cups floating above his head, watching as Master Godji whispered a spell so that that water inside would dance, taking shapes of two people dancing in the air before going back into the cup.

But the one spell that Master Godji taught him of the utmost importance was a messaging spell. No witch was unreachable and he only needed to speak her name into the flower – any flower – before whispering the spell, begging his Master to break him free from the grips of these selfish and beastly humans.

He didn’t know what time it was, since there were no windows for which his eyes could see the colour of the skies, but he had hoped Master Godji had returned from her travels from the magic realm. He whispered about to P’Jennie too, in hopes that if the flower couldn’t get to his Master, it would go to the righteous witch.

The Phunsawat family were cruel, tossing him to their eldest for him to drag him up the stairs into the small shed like room beside his own. It was a cruel return to his old life which he thought he escaped three years ago. He did deserve it, he should’ve kept in line with the rest of the crowd as he watched the carriages of the General and his family parading around the streets with their lavish gold, almost slapping the commoners in the face, showing them what they can’t have. But he had grown too tired to fight with the rich and decided to just watch and it wasn’t until the eldest stopped his carriage and lifted his sword against an innocent man did he impulsively stepped forward to stop any harm from happening.

He probably shouldn’t have acted cocky when he grabbed the sword – but he blamed Jennie and her extravagance of ‘always looking charismatic’ in the midst of a fight. She told him it would throw them off their groove and give him the upper hand to make a first move, but of course, she didn’t expect the young witch’s first fight to be against a young master who had mastered the art of swordsmanship since he was young. It was embarrassing for Off and he knew Jennie was going to shake her head in disappointment, but he’d rather receive a lecture than be stuck in this place any longer.

The young witch looked and on his hand to watch the flower slowly float, disappearing into a dozen tiny lights, slipping through the cracks of the locked door and flying to his Master. He only needed to wait…

* * *

‘Incompetence! Vile! Absolute wretched apprentice!’, Godji shouted as soon as they reached the Manor, using an invisibility spell to walk right pass the guards with her best friend by her side, ‘I can’t believe you let him out!’

‘I thought he was going to the festival to have fun! Not try to kill someone’, Jennie shouted, just as livid and disappointed in Off but both witches both knew the young man well enough that he wouldn’t have started a fight unless he was forced into that position.

‘You know the boy gets up to no good’, Godji told Jennie, flicking her hand and opening the doors in front of them as they looked for the young master’s room. Thankfully, Off was competent enough to leave his locations on the flower that the two witches received early in the morning when Godji was just about to pull a balding spell on Jennie for letting her apprentice run away again, ‘He acts like a kid now because he never had the privilege to act childish when he was young. That’s why he gets up to no good’

‘Look, we’ll talk to him once we find him, there’s no use in blaming me when you know I only want what’s best for him’, Jennie defended herself, which is all she’d been doing in the past three years with her best friend.

They opened the door, chanting a silencing spell so that no humans could hear it.

‘There’s the little rascal’, Godji whispered when she looked at the master’s bed, seeing a boy of similar age of Off sleeping peacefully, hugging his pillow tightly with his lips slightly parted.

‘He looks innocent’, Jennie commented, standing at the edge of the bed and watching the young man sleeping with her invisibility cloak resting on her shoulders, her hood up. Godji on the other hand, was too busy with trying to save her apprentice, opening the small door and letting light flood inside.

Off was leaning on the wall with his knees up, resting his head on his knees as he slept awkwardly, his muscles already aching, red patched on his skin from leaning on the wood for too long.

‘Off, wake up’, she said, kicking at his feet and whispering a lighting spell which illuminated the small storage room.

‘Master Godji!’, Off immediately screamed the moment he squinted his eyes opened and saw his Master standing before him, standing up and whining at the immediate muscle aches, ‘You came!’

‘Of course I did!’, Godji shouted at him, slapping the back of his head as she glared at her young apprentice, ‘I’m not going to allow my apprentice to be in the hands of a human. Now come quick, we must make haste before the humans stir awake’, she said and despite her furious voice, she showed no signs of following up a punishment, so Off sighed a relief, walking out of the storage room and hugging Godji, to which she extended her cloak to hide him too. She never liked such close interactions, but she allowed this one to pass since Off had probably spent the entire night alone in the storage room, but she quickly pulled away from the embrace, closing the door shut and walking back to the master’s room, ‘Come on Jennie, what’re you waiting for? We need to go’, she called out to her best friend, reaching her hand out to hold her hand, but Jennie stood in place, her eyes squinted and lips parted in shock.

Jennie was a witch with many extreme talents, she also studied the history of human and witch relations and was one of the few witches who can tell the difference between humans, one which were truly common and those with the hinted sign of magical or royal blood that stemmed from the first royalties of the human kingdoms once the fraction between magic and human realm began. These humans who stayed in the magical realm, albeit did not have power to wield magic, still soaked magic in them which travelled back to the human realm, making them different in terms of their strengths or mortality which was longer and more powerful than most humans.

Jennie scrunched her nose and wondered if she had it wrong, but she couldn’t misjudge her own talents, not when she mastered it for three hundred years.

‘P’Jennie, what’s going on?’, Off asked her, his voice finally dragging her back to reality where they were stood in the middle of a nobleman’s son’s room and the sun was about to rise.

‘He’s of royal blood’, she pointed out, turning to face her best friend who stared awkwardly at her, a raised brow at her sudden statement.

‘He’s just a General’s son’, Off pointed out, ‘I’ve been told his great grandfather was a soldier who survived the Great War and instead of surrendering, he laid his loyalties to the king, so their family worked their way up in the militant ranks. They’re nothing more than common folks who got lucky cos the King favoured them’

Despite the young man’s tangent, the two witches continued to stare at each other, communicating in silence as Jennie’s eyes brightened at an idea that suddenly popped in her head.

Witches’ spells are weak when practiced in the human world, but if they’re casted beside a person with original royal blood then…

‘Off, as a matter of fact, I think you should stay here’, Godji suddenly changed her mind, turning to finally look at her apprentice.

‘I beg your pardon?’, Off’s eyes widened in shock at the very notion of her suggestion, turning back around to look at the storage room and feeling his muscles immediately ache again.

‘That boy you nearly killed has royal blood flowing through his veins’, Godji explained to him, ‘He’ll make your magic more powerful since he has fragments of the magic realm inside him’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’, Off whispered, reaching his hand out to hold onto Godji’s, feeling like a dog being abandoned again, ‘You’re not gonna leave me with someone who would treat a human like an animal, right? I can learn magic in the forest, I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll stop going to the town, I promise, just don’t leave me here’

‘Off… Royal blood is rare and no joke’, Jennie pointed out, understanding Off’s feelings, but as she looked down at the boy she felt immense curiosity and if Off stayed close to him, she’d have a reason to study him as well, to observe one of the last heritage of royal blood that had long been eradicated. It would help in her studies as well as strengthening Off’s core. It could be a double win.

‘He’s a beast’, Off whispered, ‘That’s what they call him. What if he beats me? Tortures me? What am I to do?’

‘I won’t let him do that’, Godji reached her hand out to rest it on Off’s cheeks, giving her one of her few calming expressions, ‘I’ll make sure to cast an empathy spell so he won’t be tempted to harm you’

‘What good will that do? It won’t be permanent’

‘We’ll let you stay here for a few days and test out theory’, Godji explained, looking out of the window to see the clear orange skies lighting up. They didn’t have time to argue, ‘See this as your punishment. Spend a few days with the young master and see if your powers change, if not, then I’ll come back to fetch you and we’ll forget about all this’

‘And what if he makes me stronger?’, Off asked, nervous in his Master’s answer.

‘You’re capable of changing humans, right?’, Jennie smiled at him, stroking his hair back, ‘Human emotions are fickle and are easily changed. Make him care for you, then he won’t harm you’

‘If a person needs to care for someone in order to stop harming them, they’re still a no good human’, Off argued, glaring back down at the young man who wasn’t afraid to kill him in front of a crowd.

‘Take it one step at a time’, Jennie whispered to him, ‘This boy is special, much like you. You can really use him in your advantage’

‘But…’

‘Sometimes, we put ourselves in the unknown’, Godji tried to persuade him one last time, ‘And in the shadows, I found you, didn’t I? Wouldn’t it be perfect if you found something useful for your core in the unknown?’

‘I don’t want to be treated like a dog anymore. And he’s certainly going to do that!’

‘Off, I’ll be here this time’, Godji reminded him, turning back to her best friend, ‘And it looks like Jennie’s just as interested in him, so she won’t be too far away either’

‘But royal blood… _Him?’,_ Off whined, scrunching his nose in disgust at the thought of someone undeserving as him would have royal blood flowing through his veins, ‘Why is the world so cruel?’

‘I suggest we ask that question another time’, Godji whispered when the three witches flinched at the sight of the boy stirring in his sleep, signalling them that he will wake up in just a moment as the sunlight brushed into his window panels, shedding light into his room, ‘But I also suggest you go back into the storage room’

‘So much for rescuing me’, Off whined, walking away from his Master and away from invisibility cloak, ‘You guys suck!’

* * *

Jennie Panhan, an educated woman entered the Manor after the General’s servants recommended a freelance educator to teach his children of the history of the country and its many riches of poetry and ballads. The mother agreed delightedly, urging her husband to agree since it was important for the townspeople to know that their children was being taught by a local, there would be more intimacy between them and loyalty will seemingly be given to them soon.

‘Our dear Love would agree to sit in the library all day and read books, but Gun? Ha!’, the father laughed over the table as they sat to eat their breakfast, munching on a chicken leg and stuffing his mouth with rice, ‘He won’t be caught dead reading a book’

‘Where is he by the way? Has he dealt with that pesky commoner who tried to cause trouble last night?’

Jennie heard their conversation from the other room whilst she waited for their confirmation of her position in the Manor and she felt guilty for dragging Off inside such a filthy house, but truth be told, sacrifices needed to be made. She had spoken to Godji on their way back to the forest and the discovery of royal blood might persuade the council to rethink their prejudices over the humans if they knew, so she packed to travel back to the magic realm for another meeting.

Jennie was currently all Off had for protection and she was getting that job if she had to beg for it.

On the other side of the Manor, woke the eldest son. He was a late riser, opening his eyes near the afternoon when the sun was sky high already. He kicked his blanket off the bed, stretching his arms and sitting up as he rubbed his eyes awake. His hair was messy and he knew he needed to bathe first before heading downstairs to greet his parents, but the memories of last night’s events flooded his mind and he suddenly grinned when he turned to he locked door.

He was all the more excited to find a man his age to interact with that doesn’t sound passive or boring and despite their fight last night, he was eager to recreate the same s adrenaline he felt.

‘Took you long enough’, he hear a voice calling out to him as soon as he unlocked the door, letting the streaks of natural sunlight flow in as he looked down to find the young man sitting on the floor cross legged with his chin resting on his hands, ‘I’ve been here all day!’

‘You dare shout at me?’, Gun raised a brow, surprise that the man still had enough confidence to berate him when he had punished and locked him up for the entire night, ‘You’re my servant now’

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever’, Off stood up, stretching his arms and cracking the bones on his knees and elbows as he walked out of the storage room, pushing pass the short master and squinting his eyes due to the sudden light, but he had waited for hours for the short master to wake up and open the door for him. He should be glad his master hadn’t taught him curses yet, otherwise his whole family would be hit with dozens of curses at once.

‘Have you no knowledge of the rules? You bow to your master and only speak when spoken to’, Gun raised his voice and called out to him, ‘And your so-called family never bothered to come to discuss terms, so I’m guessing you lied and you’re truly an orphan’

‘That I am’, Off whispered, feeling the word bite into his tongue and hear when he admitted it. There was no shame in being an orphan, but there truly was loneliness, and admitting it also meant he admitted to having no one by his side and that pained him more than he could let on, ‘So, what will you do with me? Will you use me as your target of harassment? Will you beat me till I’m black and blue?’

‘You really take the fun out of things’, Gun sighed as he shook his head and took off shirt nonchalantly, shocking Off at first who took a step back and looked down on the floor to avoid such a view, ‘Run me a hot bath, I want to bathe’, he ordered his new servant, smirking when he saw the shy and awkward expression in his face, ‘What? You’ve never seen anyone naked before?’

‘I have indeed’, Off retorted with a scoff, grabbing the shirt that Gun threw on the floor and folding it, ‘I just didn’t think that such a shorty like you would have the confidence to show off your body’

‘Say that again?’, Gun threatened him as he reached his hand out for his sword to which Off raised his hand in surrender, taking a step back and bowing to the young master.

‘I’m only kidding’, he stated, trying to save himself as he took another step back, ‘I’ll run you a hot bath’, he said before departing from the room, running as fast as he could as he slammed the door shut, leaning on the wooden door and breathing out a sigh of irritation.

_This is fucking ridiculous._

Off Jumpol does not know how to run a bath, he also doesn’t know the layout of the Manor, walking down the halls with confused eyes and tumbling feet, looking around the walls which hung exquisite portraits of what he assumed are important people, framed in gold. There were knight armours hung and displayed in it’s true glory, but it isn’t indicate where the washroom were or where to get warm water.

‘Off’

‘Oh thank goodness!’, he sighed when he heard his name being called, squinting his eyes as he saw Jennie walking towards him at the end of the hall. He scrunched up the shirt in his hand, running down and making creaking noise on the floorboard as he raced his way to the witch, ‘What the hell have you been doing?’

‘I’ve just been hired as their educator’, Jennie gleamed with personal satisfaction as she pulled out a book from the palm of her hands, opening it and writing notes, ‘Such incredible creature. The daughter also has royal blood flowing through her but she’s much different from character. She’s rather calm and gentle’

‘Great’, Off rolled his eyes, tugging her sleeves and glaring at her, ‘But I’m not her servant, I’m stuck with the other one and he just sent me out to run him a bath’

‘So, go do it’

‘Does it look like I know where anything is in this house?’, Off hissed at her, annoyed at the witch was not takin into consideration the dire nature in which Off’s life is now practically in the hands of someone stupid and impulsive, so if he gets anything wrong, by the rules, he’ll be punished.

Jennie rolled her eyes, flicking his forehead and sending streams of information to Off’s mind to which he froze, his vision blurry to which the spell projected in his vision the structure of the Manor, showing him every room, kitchen, washroom and libraries that it had to offer, tall walls and high ceilings, painted to perfection and decorated in glamour as expected.

‘There’s a washroom in this floor’, she whispered, looking around to check if there were any servants listening in, ‘Try to use the spells you’ve learnt whilst you’re in this house. Make use of the royal blood, do you understand?’

‘And what will you do?’, Off asked as the pair of witches walk further down to the hall where they make a right, Jennie’s arm graciously resting on his shoulders, guiding the boy like she promised Godji.

‘I’ll be writing a new book’, she exclaimed excitedly, ‘And this time, the council will have no choice but to allow me to sit at the table. This’ll be my four hundredth book and I have a feeling it will be my most grand!’

Off had only been in contact with two witches since his discovery of his past and ancestry, bu he couldn’t help that most witches are self-serving, trying to push the rules so they can benefit from it, either in their own glory or the satisfaction of breaking the rule to create a new one under their favour. Off adored his Master and Godji, but he was starting to wonder if there was any difference between the human and magic realm, and if so, was the difference for the better?

‘Here’, Jennie opened the door to which they were welcomed to the washroom, a large space with damp walls and a tub placed at the centre, shelves of oils and soaps nailed on the rock walls, drawers of towels and robes placed on the other side. This was probably bigger than any room Off had stayed in his whole twenty one years of living and they decided to use it for one washroom, ‘Okay, I need to go. The General wants me to start teaching his daughter. I must go before they notice. Whatever you do, don’t anger your new master and don’t let him know about your powers. You know the rules’

The witch left Off by his own, pulling in his own strengths as he carried bucket of water from the outside to fill up the tub, trying to avoid the stares of the servants who must have an idea who he was and why he was suddenly serving the young master. Their whispers were loud – but that was because Off whispered an amplifying spell – listening to their voices and hearing their sighs of pity and stress. They did not know his name, but had already started calling him poor thing, much less than a boy, just an object that was dragged by the young master to do menial work.

His forehead had already started sweating once he poured the last bucket of water into the tub, leaning down against it as he breathed in a couple of breaths, trying to get his composure.

‘Orphan! Is my bath ready!’, he could hear the hallowing of the young master shouting at him and Off wanting to enchant a curse on him, but instead, he pulled his body up, reaching his hand out and touching the cold water.

_Use your magic. Make use of the royal blood around you._

‘Conbureretur’, he whispered, swaying his arm deep into the water until he palm of his hands touched the bottom, letting the heat escape his fingertips. He wondered if it worked since the water still felt cold, but in a matter of minutes, it started bubbling up, steam rising from the waters as he stirred his arms, letting his sleeves soak in boiling hot water.

‘Woah’, he couldn’t help but breath in wonder, his eyes gleaming as he looked down at the tub. Last time he tried the spell, it took hours to heat up a cup of water, but now it only took mere minutes to heat up a tub. He was slowly getting better!

‘God, you take forever to do the basic things’, he heard the door slamming open and he twisted his head around to see the young master, still shirtless, walking inside the washroom, ‘It’s already well in the afternoon and I’ve been informed that I am to sit in the library and study nonsensical books’, he began to whine, unbuttoning his trousers right in front of Off. The witch stood up abruptly, looking up at the ceiling the moment he realised Gun was naked in front of him, tipping his toes in the tub and sighing in satisfaction when he lowers himself.

_What an arrogant prick._

Off thought as he finally gained the courage to look down, sighing that Gun’s body was covered in steam and mist so he bowed his head, making his way to the door when he heard a whistle. It was like a master calling for his dog to come back, condescending and highly disrespectful – but of course, what master would respect their servant?

‘What is it?’, Off asked, biting the inside of his cheeks to stop the flowing words of anger breaking from his throat.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Giving you your privacy to bath’, Off answered, his back still facing the young master to which he heard a hearty laugh respond to him.

‘And you expect me to bath myself?’, he asked rhetorically, sarcasm flowing through his tone and Off didn’t know whether he was joking or if noblemen seriously didn’t know how to do things for themselves.

‘You’re not a child’, Off retorted, ‘And you have a pair of hands capable to swing a sword, so I’m sure you can rub soap on your body’

‘You!’, Gun shouted at his clear defiance, slapping the water and letting the waves tricking from the edges of the tub, ‘I’ve yet to teach you how to speak to your master properly!’

‘Look, I can call you sire, my lord, my master if you want’, Off finally turned around, crossing his arm and glaring at the young man, ‘But do I really have to touch you too?’

‘You’re lucky you get to be this close to noble blood’

Off didn’t reply, he was too stunned at how arrogant one person could be. And from afar, he didn’t look to be arrogant, he was short and had soft facial features, deceiving you of a soft voice. But alas, his tone was deep and critical, shouting and ordering every five seconds, it gave Off a headache.

‘Fine’, the witch finally gave him after remembering Jennie’s warning. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble, especially for his _real_ Master. He regretted indulging his curiosity and going to the festival last night. As Master Godji once told him, curiosity killed the cat, but he was in fact a dumb dog, so instead he was chained.

‘Make sure to use the peach oils’, Gun smirked when the servant finally started doing as he was told, walking over to the shelves of soap and picking out his requested ones. Of course, Gun knew how to bath himself, but he wanted to torment the foul mouthed commoner, so he watched as the servant poured the oils in one of the clothes, grabbing his arm and scrubbing his skin.

He remembered just how fierce he was, running like the wind and grabbing his sword from his hands with such ease. Despite his mediocre talents in fighting, his stealth came in his subtlety and silence. It wasn’t easy disarming a soldier from their own weapons and he was curious as to how he mastered such a thing. Despite the foul mouth and violent first meeting, Gun thought the servant had potential and would be a waste to have him killed. But now he was wondering if he was going to be a viable servant when he roughly scrubbed his arms, going down to his chest. The cloth and speed was rough, turning his skin red and he pushed his hands away for a moment, glaring at him.

‘Are you trying to strip my skin off?’, Gun hissed at him, ‘Do it properly’

‘Yeah, yeah’, Off nodded, once again feeling his hands grip on the cloth, wanting to choke the young master right there and then, but he’d lived his life having to serve people like him, so he had strong self control, keeping his frustrations to himself, holding his hands and smoothly cleaning his fingers.

‘You still haven’t given me your name’, Gun pointed out when he watched the man clean his legs. For an orphan, he looked full and healthy, his cheeks rosy, his arms muscular and strong. He wondered how such a lowly person could look bright and even somewhat handsome.

‘You don’t need to know it’, Off whispered, ‘Just call me servant’

‘You’re okay with that?’, Gun asked curiously, raising his leg and teasingly splashing water on his face.

‘It’s better than you owning my name’, Off replied. Ever since he learnt how to read and write, he had started to value his name, writing it on top of every page on his notes, looking fondly at the cursive lines. He didn’t want anyone else to take it from him, not even the young master. He’d rather be called servant than have him say his name.

‘I have to call you something, servant’, Gun rolled his eyes, not knowing why someone would value something so pitifully useless, ‘A nickname?’

‘Well, everyone just calls me Off’, he gave his most common name, a word given to him by the brothel owner who had started to make fun out of his weak posture due to his skinny limbs back then.

_There’s something off about this one!_

He could still hear his roaring laughter, pointing his bony fingers at him as he howled and laughed when he tried to clean the floors. Despite the origin of the name, it became what everyone called him and he ended up not caring. Even Master Godji and Jennie called him Off. He had learnt to embrace it, because in reality, there was in fact something off about him. He was half human and half witch, there was nothing normal about that.

But if he were to be asked, he valued Jumpol dearer than that nickname, because it was the one thing his mother left for him. It was his mother’s one and only gift to him, so he didn’t want just anyone saying it.

‘Off?’, Gun snickered, ‘How many people have you wronged for you to get such a nickname?’

‘None of your business’, Off whispered under his breath, he had finished cleaning the young master’s body and he was about to stand up and grab a towel when he notice there was still steaming, albeit faint, but still there. He dipped his hands in the water again and realised the water was still hot, even though it’s been half an hour since he had warmed it up. He nervously looked at the young master, seeing his close his eyes and soak his skin in the water and he prayed the master was dumb enough not the wonder why the water was still warm.

Off rushed to the drawers, pulling out a towel and beckoning for the master to stand up, ‘Okay sir, here you go’, he reached his hand to try to pass the towel to him, but Gun didn’t follow by any schedules but his own, so he sunk his face into the water, wetting his hair and humming a soft melody.

‘Clean my hair too. I haven’t washed it in weeks’

‘Not many people wash their hair this often’, Off mumbled, his chest beating fast when the water showed no signs of cooling down. Any longer and the young master will start getting suspicious, so he grabbed a chair, not wasting any time as he poured oils into his hands, standing behind Gun’s head, his fingers massaging his scalp as he cleaned his hair. It wasn’t even matted yet and he didn’t know why a nobleman would waste his time washing his hair, but he needed to get it over and done with. He poured water over the soapy hair, washing it thoroughly before grabbing a towel, drying it before tapping the young master’s shoulders.

‘Your skin’s getting wrinkled’, off warned him, ‘You should get dressed’

‘Mhhm’, Gun nodded, opening his eyes and wondering why he felt so relaxed with just the feeling of hands combing through his hair. He felt more awake and oddly even more alive. He finally grabbed the towel that was in Off’s hands, standing up on the tub and drying his body as he walked out.

Off whispered curses under his breath when Gun confidentially walked around the washroom naked with ease and not even an ounce of decency. He may have grown up in a brothel, but he never once was allowed to see the happenings of what goes behind closed doors, so he was still awkward and shy when it comes to bare bodies.

‘Come to the library with food from the kitchen after you finish cleaning up here’, Gun ordered him, wrapping his towel around his waist, finally clothing himself.

‘Sure thing’, Off nodded, still sat down on the small stool, huffing a sigh of relief as he heard the door close.

_Jennie, come here!_

He sent a telepathic message to the witch and it was vague and a little imperfect that she barely sensed it. Off still hadn’t mastered it, but in a few minutes the witch had knocked on the door, walking inside to see Off pacing around.

‘What’s going on?’, she asked, her tone hurried and impatient, ‘I need to come back soon, the two children are waiting in the library for me’

‘P’Jennie, look!’, Off ran to her, grabbing her wrist and pointing at the tub, ‘Look at the water!’

The witch looked down and raised a questioning brow when she saw the still water floating in the tub, ‘What am I supposed to see?’

‘I boiled the water with magic’, Off explained, ‘And it stayed hot when Gun was inside!’

‘Huh?’

‘The stupid master bathed for almost an hour and it stayed warm but as soon as he left it’s cooled down’

Jennie beamed, clapping her hands together as she almost jumped in a cheer, ‘Do you know what that means?’

‘I wouldn’t be calling you if I did’

‘It means his royal blood is already helping you!’, Jennie squealed, ‘No wonder I still heard your sad attempt of a mind message’, she whispered the last bit, but Off still heard it, glaring at the tall witch and crossing his arm, ‘I knew it would work. Your powers will only grow in improvement the more you stay close to him. Such a small once of royal blood and your powers have already improved immensely. Just how much more if you actually trained in the magic realm! Godji’s right, you have true potential’

‘This is insane…’, Off whispered when he realised his fate once Jennie explained it to him, ‘Does that mean I have to stay close to him from now on?’, his face faltered and he looked to the ground with irritation and sadness. He had to serve someone again.

‘Make friends with him’, Jennie advised him, stopping her squeals when she noticed Off’s opposite expression to hers, ‘If he trusts you as a servant, then you might even gain a thing or two’

‘No one can be friends with that brat’, Off muttered, tugging his hair in frustration and kicking the tub, ‘And out of everyone, why him?! Why does he have royal blood?!’

* * *

That truly was the question. Jennie had observed the family for one day, but they were slightly different from the other noblemen, there was an informality in their presentation. The General and his wife were rather close, spending their days together walking in the garden or listening to their daughter sing. Even their youngest, named Love, was sweet and caring, tending injuries of small creatures she found outside, reading books whilst she sat on the window sill overlooking the view of the garden.

She’d live long enough to notice a system of arranged marriages, estranged couples and child raised in a loveless environment, turning them into brutal adults. But even their eldest, who was the most brute and spoilt out of the two children, was only spoilt because he was lavished with caring words and infinite options that no child should have, not because his father beat him to a pulp or his mother dared not look at him.

‘Where is my servant?’, Gun whined as he kicked his feet up, letting his shoes stained the pages of the open books on the table as he crossed his arm and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling which was painted with clouds, diamond handlebar hung up.

‘Brother, don’t taint the books’, his sister told him off, pushing his feet off the table as she grabbed the books, wiping the dirt with her own fingers, ‘They’re precious’

‘They’re paper and ink’, Gun rolled his eyes.

‘And your sword is just metal’, Love retorted back, closing the books and piling it beside her as she began to read another book that Jennie, their new teacher, recommended, ‘But it’s the way you swing it that makes it powerful, right? It’s the same with books. It’s the way you read and care for it does it become powerful’

‘God, you need to go outside and experience the world sometimes’, Gun whined when he listened to his sister’s lectures, turning to look at her and sticking his tongue out, ‘You’re too wrapped out in worlds that doesn’t exist’

‘If I were allowed out, then I wouldn’t be here’, Love kicked his foot under the table, biting back with a gentle voice. Despite their ongoing bickering, the two siblings were actually close with each other, travelling from one location to the next and never finding friends due to their family’s position, so they spent their free time in each other’s presence, annoying each other but protecting the other when they needed it. Gun had always chased off bullies who dared pick on his sister and Love would always talk to their father to lessen Gun’s punishment when he was caught doing something stupid.

They also knew that they had different privileges the others didn’t have and they were also envious of each other. Most obviously, Love hated how much freedom his brother had and how he wasted it by going to taverns and causing trouble. She would love to just walk out of the Manor without a presence of a guard standing behind her. She would run around the field, getting the ends of her dress stained, wishing she could try every food in the town market. But, alas, she was confined in the big house, using her imagination and books to get by.

Gun on the other hand, envied her lack of responsibility. At the young age of eight, his father had already forced him to pick up a sword and arrow, breaking bones and twisting muscles whilst his teachers shouts words of abuse at his lack of strength. His first battle was when he was thirteen, the helmet barely staying on his head as he ran straight into the battle field, his innocence being burnt that night. Love didn’t even need to marry a stranger, much like the nobles their age. Because their parents married for love, they didn’t force their children to do something they couldn’t even do, so Love only needed to spend her time in her bubble of safety until it was time for her to meet the right person and start a family.

Which was probably why they fought more than they loved, kicking each other’s foot and whining when they hit too hard, Gun glaring at his sister.

‘Mum and I were talking by the way’, she sighed as she pulled her foot back first, being the bigger person as she turned on the next page, ‘She was wondering why you would take such a feral commoner as your servant. Are you going to use him as your target during training?’

‘Of course, not’, Gun called out, folding his arms, ‘Did you not see the way he fought me last night?’

‘That was quite a sight’, she admitted, nodding her head, exciting that her first time outside the Manor she got to see a spectacle before being locked back up, ‘He was cunning’

‘Exactly’, Gun pointed at her, ‘And a commoner with that much potential should be kept close and used’

‘You’re gonna train him as your bodyguard?’

Gun scoffed at his sister, shaking his head and laughing, ‘Do you think someone like me needs a bodyguard?’, despite him being her brother, Love also hated his arrogance and rolled his eyes at his statement.

‘Then why’re you keeping him close?’

‘He easily defied me in front of a crowd. What if they gain inspiration from that?’, Gun asked her, ‘We don’t need a rebellion in this district, not when father’s entrusted a future spot at the King’s council after his job here and I can become a knight’

Love was surprised that her brother could be diplomatic and nodded her head in understanding. It was true that one voice can spark another and if they had let him go, the people will feel brave to speak out too, but if they had killed them, they would be seen as ruthless and against the people, which would mostly start a riot. Punishing him to serve the noble whilst still sparing his life showed that they were just yet sympathetic. She didn’t know Gun was capable of such decision seeing as her brother was impulsive more than anything.

But of course, Gun only used that as an excuse. His decision was truly diplomatic, yet that wasn’t his main goal. His main goal was not to die of boredom in the country whilst he waits for the King’s orders for them to return to the capital and he thought the commoner would give him some form of entertainment. Speaking of…

‘Where is that blasted servant?’, he whined when he looked around to see the lowlife still hadn’t entered the library, I’m starving!’

‘You shouldn’t have skipped breakfast then’, Love pointed out, which only earned her a scowl. Gun was about to kick her leg when the door bursted open, their teacher walking in followed by Off who was holding a tray of cut meat and grapes to which Gun smiled.

‘Finally, took you long enough’, Gun clapped his hands, grabbing the tray and setting it down on his lap as he began to eat, ‘You should learn how to be quick in your tasks. I can die of old age just waiting for you to get one thing done’

‘Sorry sir’, Off bowed his head, which surprised Gun who stopped eating, looking up at his servant with a raised brow.

‘So now you wanna be nice to me?’, he asked, ‘Have you broken anything?’

‘You wanted me to be respectful, then you interrogate me when I’m simply following orders. Can you make up your mind?’, Off bite back, about to continue his slander when he felt his lips tightened, forcing him to shut up and he looked up to see Jennie giving him a warning look before unzipping his lips.

Gun smirked when he saw how Off got so worked up only after one simple question, putting his foot back up on the table again as he grabbed a grape, popping it in his mouth and smiling at him.

Off tried his best not to roll his eyes, bowing his head and turning back to stand a little behind Gun, his hands behind his back and in a clenched fist. He stood for almost three hours, listening to Jennie talk about the history and lore of the country, opening passages of books whilst her eyes stole glances at the movements of the young humans. With two royal blood in one room, she could feel it grow stronger.

Off watched as Jennie taught, remembering the endless nights she would visit, opening her books and teaching him how to write and spell, making him read fairy tales and folklore so he could get used to the written language and get told off by Godji when he mispronounced words. She was a good teacher and he was envious that the two nobles had an abundance of time whereas he only started reading three years ago. And he couldn’t help but glare at the man sitting in front of him, yawning and flicking through the pages without even attempting to read it, disregarding something Off treasured so much. He wanted to smack his head and order for him to pay attention, but he had to keep reminding himself that he was below this stupid man.

* * *

‘Off, come here’, he heard Gun’s orders whispering through the corridor as his young master walked into the ground floor where the servants washed their clothes and mend any broken furniture. They immediately saw their young master walking in, standing up and bowing their head, instantly stopping what they doing to make his presence known.

Off was too busy sitting down and massaging his feet after standing up for the whole day whilst he cleaned the pots and pans in a wide bucket of soapy water, ignoring everyone’s stares which were still prevalent.

‘Off!’

‘What is it?’, he shouted back, earning gasps from the servants at his lack of formality and rough response. He didn’t even bother to stand up and bow to him when Gun made his way forward, standing in front of him and tapping his foot impatiently.

‘Do you know the town well?’

‘I’ve lived here for three years’, Off replied, ‘I’m sure I know my way around’

‘Good’, Gun smirked, stomping his foot to make Off look up at him, ‘Then come with me. We’re going out’

‘I beg your pardon?’, Off chuckled, raising a brow as he glared up at the young master, ‘Are you even allowed?’

‘I wouldn’t be here in this dump asking you to help me sneak out if I was’, Gun replied nonchalantly and Off couldn’t help but turn to look at his fellow servants, pointing at his master rather rudely whilst he gave them questioning looks, as if asking why they weren’t doing anything with such information.

‘I may be your servant, but I’m not going against a General’, Off finally replied when the servants looked away from him, avoiding his eyes as they slowly went back to work.

‘Oh, so you wanna stay in this Manor?’, Gun asked, ‘Do you really wanna be trapped here?’

‘You’re the reason why I’m chained here’, Off said with as much venom he could push through, grabbing the cloth and scrubbing the copper pans from the ashes and stains, ‘And I’m not going to get into any more trouble because of you’

‘I didn’t ask, I ordered you’, Gun reminded, kicking his leg back to a table and reaching his hand out to grab a knife before it fell and without even looking at it, he threw the small metal into the air with ferocity, letting the sharp tip barely graze Off’s cheeks, landing on the wall behind him, ‘Or do you want to die’

Off held his breath, his throat tightened as he stopped moving. The sharp knife didn’t cut him, but if Gun had wanted, he could have thrown it a little closer and his cheeks would bleed. The servants, who continued to work, stole worried glances at him, wondering what the new servant was going to do.

‘Where do you wanna go?’, Off asked, giving in as he sank the pots back in the small bucket, grabbing a dishcloth to wipe his damp hands.

‘Show me to the best tavern’, Gun smiled when he finally got the submission of his servant, ‘Meet me in the halls by my room. We’ll use the secret tunnels to escape’

‘If you know how to get out of the house, why do you need me to come with you?’

‘You know the town better’, Gun shrugged, ‘And I want to have some fun’

* * *

Jennie had already left hours ago, whispering to him that she’ll fetch him when night comes, but it seemed as though her promise would be useless if Off was walking in a secret tunnel with no signs of light apart from the fire in the lantern that Gun was holding.

There was a door disguised as a painting in the halls of the room chambers and Gun used all his strength to open it, the dust of the tunnels flowing into the hallway. Off found it creepy that a house could be designed with such secrecy, wondering who the previous owners were and why they felt the need to create tunnels.

‘Where does this lead off too?’, Off asked, the straight tunnel had started to look like an endless path with no light at the end and he was scared that maybe Gun had tricked him and was in fact sending him off to a secret dungeon or torture room of some sort. He gripped the end of his sleeves, his thumbs playing with the loose threads.

‘To the sewers by the garden. It’ll lead us straight into the lakes further out and we just need to make our way back to town’

‘You’re sending up straight into the forest?’, Off asked nervously, remembering Master Godji and Jennie’s small cottage. His master had put a spell so no human can ever see it, but given the sudden information of Gun’s royal blood, he didn’t know if he was an exception and he nervously quivered at the thought of his Master’s cottage being discovered by this scoundrel.

But before he could ask if there was another route, they heard running footsteps from behind them, quick and haste, forcing them to turn around. Gun reaches his hands out to illuminate the path in behind him, reaching his sword out with his other hand as he prepared for an attack or one of his father’s guards following them.

‘Wait! Wait for me!’

‘What the…’, before Gun could attack the running shadow, raising his sword up, Off and Gun held onto each other when they spotted the flowing dress and braided locks of hair come into view, ‘Love?! What the hell are you doing here?!’, Gun shouted as soon as he recognised his sister, who was breathless, leaning on the wall to gain her energy as she closed her eyes,

‘I wanna come too!’

‘Oh, for the love of…’, Gun whined and closed his eyes in frustration, taking a moment to calm his raging mins before opening his eyes and staring at his sister, ‘You’re not allowed out’

‘Neither are you!’, she retorted back, ‘What makes you different?’

‘It’s the middle of the night’, Gun called out to her, ‘A woman shouldn’t be roaming around the streets during sun down’

‘But I’ll be with you and your servant’, Love whined, walking over and reaching out to hold onto her brother’s hand, making him lower his sword, ‘Come on brother, I’ve been just as bored as you during these past few weeks. Please! Let me have some fun! At least in the palace I could talk to the court ladies’

In any other day, Gun would’ve pushed his sister away and tell her to piss off, but the sibling both hated the idea in moving to the country and he sometimes listened to her sobs in the middle of the night whilst he was passing he room and he couldn’t help but feel pity for her too.

Off was astound. He watched as Gun lowered his sword, placing it back onto his waist as he grabbed Love’s hand, squeezing it tight and nodding. This was the first time he ever submitted to anyone and it was to his younger sister.

‘Just this one night, okay?’, his voice wasn’t raised or annoyed anymore, in fact, it was calm and somewhat gentle, as gentle as a beast could be.

So, this young master does feel sympathy?

* * *

Jennie lit a small lantern as she sat by her study desk, looking over her notes as the moonlight shined from above the midnight blue skies. She had just returned from the Manor, taking notes from her observation and already having enough information for a whole book. It was odd that such rare blood could still feel so powerful. The showed no signs of royal blood, but the General did. It was faint and frail, not as powerful due to his old age, but it seemed like his linage had a history they themselves didn’t know about.

The witch took to her cauldron, stirring the substance as she got out a bottle of water that she stole from the tub that Off showed her, pouring it in and seeing the cauldron steam into a golden mist. She smiled as she continued to take notes, wondering if there was something special about their family that they could still hold onto their royal blood. Most families have died out, some have been cursed never to bare children again, so how did this family slip such a curse? It was fascinating.

She turned away from her notes when she heard her cauldron bubbling up, forcing her to close her books, setting it to one side as she stood up and grabbed a flower from one of her vases. It was a rose, typical red yet picked from the magical realm which gave it longevity in life and colour. She slowly dropped it into the cauldron, watching each petal break away one by one, melting into the pot and turning it turquoise.

The rose from the magic realm reacted with the water, sizzling and creating a magical potion that can enhance one’s power and inner core. She smiled to herself, using a ladle to pour a small potion in a small cup, smelling the steam, a scent of rose and incense filling the room. If Off had one sip, she was sure his inner core would strengthen and give him more power to master spells and enchantments. She was sure they didn’t need three hundred years to prove Off’s potential is they kept Gun by his side.

They’ll be able to return in no time.

* * *

‘Keep your hood up’, Off whispered to the two nobles when they reached the forest, off guiding them through and looking at the trees. He had memories each bark and markings that he created when he first arrived, making sure to make himself tracks and marks that only he could read so he could make his way back home. He had memorised the forest deeply that he was able to guide the two humans back to the town but away from his Master’s lair.

‘This is so exciting’, Love held onto her brother’s arm, feeling her shoes feel the crunch of the leaves and branches, looking up at the bright lit moon and watching the clouds. If she was by herself, she would’ve been terrified, imagining branching as hands and claws out to get her, but she had her brother with her as well as his foul mouth servant, so she took the liberty of looking around in wonder, ‘Do you think the markets would still be opened?’

‘Your welcome festival still commences for another week’, Off informed them, ‘It’s a week off work and so many have chosen to spend the night in taverns and markets’

‘Oh, how exciting’, she sighed, hurrying in her steps, not wanting to miss out in the festivities, ‘Wouldn’t it be grand if we could dance under the moonlight?’

‘How tacky’, Gun whispered, but he held his sister close, not wanting to lose her, ‘You should get your head out of those books and try drinking some beer’

‘I can’t believe you’re influencing your sister, a young noble lady, to drink beer’, Off scoffed at him, leaning on one of the trees as he squinted his eyes, seeing the flashing artificial lights of lanterns. They were only a few steps from the town and they could already hear the faint laughter and shouting, shrill of music and performers on the street.

‘Oh!’, Love was the first to comment of the sound, her ears twitching at the sound of music, ‘I knew there was a performance! Brother quick! I wanna join the dance!’

‘Slow down!’, Gun warned him when she let go of him arm, running past Off who watched her almost glide into town, her hood still up and covering her face, but he was still worried for her. If anything happened to either of them, his head was first to go on the chopping block, so he rushed after running, running with her until their feet hit the gravel, finally being shaded with light from the lanterns hung up above them.

They had immediately reached the town square where a huge performance was happening, men with their instruments stomping their feet to the beat whilst a singer was at the centre of the small makeshift stage with a crowd of people in front dancing and cheering, spinning their dresses around and laughing with beer in their bellies.

Love, who had never been in the middle of such a crowd, was quick to join in, getting lost with the dancing as she grabbed the hand of an older woman who allowed her to join in, spinning around and cheering.

‘Father is going to kill her if he ever sees her like that’, Gun sighed, but he didn’t stop his sister, in fact, he his a smile as he watched her grin, her eyes shining bright when she looked up, her cheeks round and protruding whilst she easily got accepted by the crowd, dancing with them and learning the steps as she goes.

Without his grudge, Off’s heart would probably soften for the noble lady, she was sweet and only wanted a taste of fun, but too bad her brother was an idiot who stood beside him with his arms crossed.

‘Now, point me to the best tavern’, Gun ordered his servant who stared confused at him.

‘Aren’t you going to stay and watch over your sister?’

‘No, that would be your job’, Gun gave him a smile, patting his shoulder, ‘Keep an eye on her’

‘And what about you?’

‘What about me?’

‘I’m supposed to let you go off on your own?’

‘I’m a man. I can protect myself’, Gun laughed.

‘It’s the people that needs protecting from you’, Off muttered another his breath, but he sighed and pointed at a small tavern close to the town square, not because it was the best, but it was closest to them, so he knew the young master wouldn’t get too far out of his sight. Gun nodded and left him in a second and he should rejoice that he was no longer under the grips of the idiot, but it only made him nervous. With Gun’s rashness, he didn’t know whether the man was going to start a fight any moment – hell, that was exactly how they first met – but his violent streak. But he knew Love needed more protecting, she was too trusting, already holding hands with peasants and commoners despite her noble title and if she released her hood and the people recognised her, she would be used and abused in no time.

So, off had no choice but to walk in one of the stalls, ‘Do you have any parchment and ink I can borrow?’, he asked the seller who looked at him, squinting his eyes and smiling.

‘Ah, for you my boy, of course’, the old man smiled when he recognised him. He was the boy who treated the whole market with sweet fruit and a warm smile, so he pulled out a ripped parchment and an ink pot, sliding it to his side of the table to which Off quickly drew a figure.

It ended up looking like a sloppy outline of a gingerbread man, the ink dark and blotted, but it was good enough for him and he smiled and quickly thanked the old man before walking back to where he stood, looking around to find Love still dancing in the crowd.

‘Be of watch, keep him safe’, Off whispered whilst he repeated a reviving spell. This was much more complicated, breathing life to an inanimate object whilst commanding them to do your will and he never seemed to get it right. Master Godji had shook her head in disappoint main times when his drawing had failed to rise up , or when it does, it burns quickly, disappearing into ashes. But he had mastered the warming spell, he was sure that with the exposure of royal blood around him, he would be strong enough to pull this spell through.

He kept on whispering, following Love’s every move, moving to the left when she danced to he left. He continued to whisper, being slightly impatient when the drawing refused to leap out on the page.

‘Be of watch, keep him safe’, Off whispered again. He had repeated the same spell in Master Godji’s cottage until he was frustrated and burnt hundreds of paper already, but this time, he didn’t give up. He kept on his peering until he saw a little piece of arm waving at him.

The tiny figure slowly lifted out of the paper, leaving a hole as it jumped into the air. The crowd around him couldn’t see, because witches’ spells were naked to the human eyes, so he didn’t fear the small figure dancing into the air, waving at him before floating above, rushing to the tavern where Gun had gone off too.

He couldn’t help but smile at himself. He looked down at the paper, staring at the whole and feeling a rush of pride when he managed to make the spell work.

‘I did it’, he whispered, gripping on the edge of the paper and scrunching it, ‘I did it!’, he shouted it this time, jumping up in the air and raising his fist up. Master Godji was going to be so proud of him and he couldn’t wait to tell her all about it.

‘Off! Come here!’, Love turned to where her brother’s servant were, seeing him jump by himself and thinking the boy probably also wanted to join in with them, so she broke from the crowd and grabbed his hands, dragging him into the crowd.

Off, who didn’t want to turn down her offer, allowed himself to be dragged despite the misunderstanding, dancing with her and letting his feet follow the steps of the music which continued to play, everyone singing along despite their shit voice or drunk slurs. For one night, everyone was happy.

* * *

Young master Gun Atthaphan found no joy in joining in commoner’s activities, so he had departed from his sister and servant, opening the doors to the tavern where it was filled with men, laughing and sitting across from one other as they finished their ale. Some of them were commoners, others were travellers, but his eyes were transfixed on the soldiers. They had on the royal robes and the Kingdom’s symbol sewn into their uniform and his footsteps headed straight towards them.

‘Fellow soldiers’, he raised his voice, gaining the attention of the group of the King’s army, their head looking up at him, ‘The tavern’s quite full, mind if I join this table?’

‘Whatever’, they all shrugged, making room for him as he sat at the corner of the table, raising his hand to order an ale for himself. He kept quiet for a couple of minutes, listening to their conversations and getting updates from the new regime from the Palace.

‘Sir Oab had returned from his mission’

‘Was he scarred?’

‘Only slightly. He rested for only three days and came back to the training field. He’s a tough one’

_Oab._

‘Is he the knight of the Sonata?’, Gun finally joined in the conversation, his tone impatient when he heard the name in passing talks.

‘Yeah, how do you know him?’, they asked with curious eyes. He didn’t have a uniform on and they didn’t recognise him due to his hood.

‘He’s a brave knight’, Gun replied, still trying to hide his identity, ‘He also trained amongst the best’

‘Yes, I heard he was the only one who could tolerate the Silver Beast’, one of the soldiers agreed, nodding his head and munching on his bread.

‘The General’s son? I heard he’s a fright to work with’, they all muttered, only ever hearing stories about the infamous Silver Tongue but never meeting him. He was too important and talented to be deployed in useless menial tasks, only being ordered to sent into battlefields that caused a threat, so not a lot of soldiers ever got to meet him and those who had most likely died in battle since they weren’t talented to survive unlike him.

Gun wasn’t angered by their words, not when he knew it was true. He was self aware, he knew he was hard to work with and he wasn’t ashamed of that. He only ever wanted to work with the best of the best, so he had every rights to kick anyone out who didn’t have the same talents as him, which was why everyone hated him. All except one.

Oabnithi was a knight with exquisite talented and he had given him special treatment because of that. He didn’t raise his voice nor punished him for his small mistakes because he knew the knight made up for it in his strength and training. He was someone he didn’t wanna leave when he was sent the word from his father that they were moving to a district to the South. He had grown too fond of the knight and his talents, adding his good looks and handsome features.

‘Has he… Taken a break since his mission?’, Gun asked and he didn’t know why he was nervous, but he played with his fingernails under the table when he waited for the answer, not knowing that a piece of paper had pasted itself on his back, keeping an eye on him and motoring his emotions and heart rate.

‘Well, you know how it is after a long mission’, they all laughed, clanking their cups together as they drank, ‘He found himself a little mistress. Wouldn’t stop smiling about it’

‘He took her to the midnight ball in celebration of his mission’, another soldier added on, gossiping like a bunch of commoners, ‘She was the most beautiful sight to see’

_Will you wait for me?_

_Of course, I will. Don’t you know I’m infatuated by you._

Gun sighed, keeping his emotions to himself as he downed his drink in one go, raising his arm for another. He didn’t trust anyone’s words or promises, not when he was taught by his father to always be cautious, but the knight had warmed his bed for many full moons, his kisses still lingering on his skin and he fought his anger at the idea that the knight had already moved on after only a few weeks of leaving. _Ha!_

His father was right. Words were stringed jokes, masked in pretentious promises of honour and dignity. It was such a shame that he had entertained the knight for so long.

* * *

Off sat on one of the stools, taking a break as he dragged Love to one of the open bars, handing her the mildest drink on the menu and watching her face scrunched at the homemade ale.

‘We commoners don’t make as good alcohol as you guys’, he pointed out, laughing at her as she slid the cup to the edge of the table like a cat wanting to get rid of it from her sight. She took a breath but she continued to watch the crowd as it slowly dispersed. The night was slowly disappearing and everyone had homes and families to go back to, so the crowd started walking away from the square, only a few drunkards and musicians staying behind to earn their last few tips for anyone willing to give them a spare coin.

‘My brother and I used to sneak out of the palace together when we were young’, Love suddenly started talking, feeling as if she should fill the silence between the two of them, ‘We were both curious so we slipped past the guards and headed to the capital square’

Off stared at her, wondering why she was telling him a story from her past. They never even formally greeted each other nor did she look like she cared about his wellbeing under the power of her brother, but he wasn’t rude enough to interrupt her.

‘We got caught’, she carried on, ‘One of the King’s guards recognised us and sent us straight to father. But the funny thing is, he took all the blame, telling my father it was his idea, so he got punished instead of me’

‘Are you trying to persuade me into thinking your brother is good?’, Off asked when she finally stared back at him with a pitiful glance.

‘I’m just saying that he’s not just the beast everyone says he is’, she commented, stretching her arms and looking down at her shoes which were stained in mud as well as the ends of her dress, ‘He has a heart underneath the silver armour’

‘Well, he doesn’t use it well enough’, Off replied, not caring if he was disrespecting his master, reaching out to still Love’s cup of ale and drinking it for himself.

Love was about to defend her brother, but she stayed silent. There was no used trying to changed the minds of fixed people, so she looked down at her hands, playing with the rings on her finger. That was when Off saw the paper figure he had sent off to care for the beast in question, floating in the air before landing softly on his shoulder, he could barely feel it, but he heard it whisper.

‘Come quick’, the paper figure ordered him, ‘The boy’s heart broken’

‘Huh?’, off couldn’t help but reacting, turning to look down at the paper. When he heard the words ‘come quick’, he had thought that the idiot had gotten himself into trouble, just as he expected, but the following lines were something he wouldn’t have predicted even if his life depended on it.

‘His heartbeat had slowed and his mind is fogged with alcohol. You must hurry before he passes it’

‘Love, come on. I think you and your brother has had enough fun for tonight’, Off beckoned the short girl, standing up and tapping the table to get her attention.

‘Do you know where Gun’s gone too?’

‘He’s in the tavern getting wasted’, he sighed, and he didn’t know why he answered that and he saw the way Love looked suspiciously at him, as if asking why he knew that when he had spent all night with her, ‘I’m only assuming since that’s where I last saw him’, he added on as an excuse.

The pair made their way to the small tavern. It was almost empty inside, except for the passed out drunks who laid their head on the table, one of them being Gun, who’s hood looked like a rock resting on the surface of the wood.

‘Brother’, Love ran up to him, shaking his shoulder and lifting his head up to see Gun passed out, ‘Oh, why did you get so drunk?’, she whined when she saw his flushed cheeks and drooping eyes, ‘Father’s gonna know what we got up to if he sees your state tomorrow morning’

_Shit. That’s right._

Off realised as he looked down at the stupid idiot. Hangovers… He was sure Jennie had taught him a spell to get rid of the alcohol in your system, but he couldn’t quite remember it. He gave up and grabbed Gun’s arms, lifting him up and letting the drunk man lean on him.

‘Sir, you’re gonna need to walk’, Off whispered to him, watching as Love grabbed his other arm.

‘Mhhmm’, Gun could only whine and mumble, his head spinning. He couldn’t even stand up by himself and they knew he wasn’t going to be subtle enough to sneak back into the Manor with his drunk ass by their side.

‘We need to get him sober’, he pointed out to Love as they dragged him out of the tavern, almost carrying him once they felt the old wind of the outside.

‘How’re we supposed to do that?’, Love asked, ‘I’ve never seen my brother this drunk before’

‘What can get you back to your senses?’, Off asked as he looked around the empty town square, hating himself for not remembering Jennie’s spell. But he looked ahead of him, seeing a round fountain with cold water resting inside and he immediately thought of an idea,’We’re just gonna have to splash him with some cold water’, Off mumbled as he knelt down and picked up Gun’s leg, carrying him bridal style to which Love gasped at how a servant could just touch a noble that easily.

‘What’re you doing?’, she asked, but Off didn’t care for her cries, rushing towards the fountain and not noticing how Gun easily wrapped his arms around his neck, hugging his head to his chest as he continued to slur and murmur nonsense.

‘Oab… Nithi’, he kept on saying like a chant, over and over again until Off got sick and tired of him, looking down and watching his puffed up red cheeks, red protruding lips and droopy eyes. For what it’s worth, he looked innocent when he was asleep, but Off didn’t have time for his drunk nonsense and they needed to head back before they got caught, so he immediately dropped Gun into the fountain, watching his body drop into the water.

What he failed to realised that Gun’s arms which were wrapped tightly around his neck, had a much stronger hold around him than he anticipated and within seconds, he felt himself falling too, feeling the wind brush pass his cheeks, screaming as he hit the cold water.

‘Son of a-!’, he screamed when he felt the water soak his clothes, landing on top of Gun who gasped out for air as soon as he breathed in the cold water, coughing it out and choking as he continued to hold onto Off.

_GASP!_

Gun’s body began to retaliate due to the freezing water, his arms holding onto the only thing that’s warm, his foggy mind clear and it felt like the alcohol had disappeared in his system within seconds, his mouth open as if he was drowning.

One minute he was gasping air, the next minute he wasn’t gasping at all.

Gun’s vision finally cleared and he woke up to stare at the moon above him, but half of it was blocked by something – a face which stared down at him with wide round eyes and a shocked expression – that’s when he realised something landed on his lips, something soft yet frozen.

‘Unhandled me!’, Gun screeched when he realised his servants lips had found itself on his, feeling his soft breath against his skin, forcing him to sit in the middle of the fountain, pushing his servant off him, ‘How dare you touch this noble one’s lips?!’

‘Did you think I really meant to do it?’, Off shouted back, just as shocked and bewildered over such actions, and it wasn’t just because of the disgust that waved in his stomach, wanting him to throw up at the mere thought of their actions, but the fact that his blood started to boil and he could feel his heart racing fast. He didn’t know why he was feeling this type of immense emotion as he stood up and stepped away from the fountain, looking down at his soaked clothes.

‘You… You…’, Love pointed at him in shock, witnessing the whole event with round eyes and parted lips.

‘Love!’, Gun shouted her name as he got out of the fountain, his whole body soaking wet as he stomped to her with a pointed finger, ‘Never speak of this again, you hear!’

‘You just kissed…’, she repeated despite his threats, shocked at first, but then she began to laugh, pointing at her brother and clutching her stomach with her other hand, ‘You kissed a commoner!’

‘You shut it!’

‘Wow, thanks for the confident boost’, when he saw the two siblings bicker over the kiss, love making fun of him for every touching a lowly person like that. He wiped his lips with the back of his hands, also wanting to forget what happened but when he looked down, he felt his fingers quivering, as if his blood was flowing too fast. He was getting nervous as he wanted to head home and just sleep it off, but the two siblings continued to fight and bicker as if they were in their own house and he wished he had never got entangled with either of them.,,

‘Oh, for the love of God, can you just stop?!’, he yelled out of frustration and with the empty square, his voice echoed, bouncing back from the walls and hitting through the tremor to which the Phunsawat stopped moving completely.

Off froze on the spot, his eyes quivering, blinking inadvertently as he tried to gain his reality – but he couldn’t. It was like time had stopped – fuck – time had literally stopped for him!

‘Guys?’, he called out to the two siblings, walking towards them and reaching his hand out to touch them. They felt like mannequins, skin cold and expression paused. Love was still laughing, her mouth wide open and her hood down whilst Gun’s arm was raised.

_What the hell was going on?_

‘Gun?’, he called out the young master’s name for the first time, letting the name roll off his tongue but it was responded with pure and utter silence. He looked down and even the trickle of the waters in the fountain had stopped, the birds with their wings spread out in the skies were frozen, hanging above them as well as the town square clock which had stopped moving.

‘It took me fifty years to master time freeze’, a voice ripped through the freezing of time, a shadow moving into the light before forming into a person.

‘Master Godji’, he sighed in relief, his breathing even as he rushed to his master, ‘What the hell is going on?’

‘Jennie was right’, she whispered, looking around the town square and seeing it frozen, ‘You’re more powerful than we both initially thought’

‘What’re you talking about? Do you know what’s happened?’, Off kept asking her questions, expecting her to have all the answers.

‘What did you do with the young master Phunsawat?’, she turned her head and asked her apprentice, her hair combed back and sleek, her silks falling to the ground and fingers lathered in jewellery. She had just returned from the magic realm after finishing up some business and she returned to a frozen town and right at the heart of it, was her troublemaking apprentice.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your inner core is growing immensely to the point where you can master spells even I couldn’t when I was just an apprentice’, Master Godji whispered, her voice calm yet her eyes was filled with curiosity, reaching her hand to touch Love’s hair, twirling it between her fingers and watching how the young girl didn’t move.

‘I… Did this?’

‘Of course you did’, Master Godji responded, ‘You wanted something to stop and in affect, you made everything stop. That’s pretty powerful for a witch who didn’t even know how to cast that specific spell’

‘I… I…’, Off looked back at the frozen young master and all of a sudden his lips started to tingle, heat rising to his cheeks. His hands unknowingly touched his lips and Master Godji looked at him with a raised brow, putting the two together.

‘You kissed him?’, she asked, still not sure, but when her apprentice didn’t answer, she took it as a yes and nodded her head, walking back towards the young master, now facing him, ‘His royal blood is faint due to time and with just one contact, your inner core has improved. This might do us wonders’

‘I didn’t mean to kiss him… That’s… That was an accident. I didn’t mean to cause more trouble’, Off tried to defend himself because he knew what he did was wrong. To touch a noble like that? He could whine and argue with him, but to lay a hand on him in any way, let alone kissing him, was a crime punishable by beating. But the odd part was that, Master Godji was relaxed, the lines on her face smooth and observant.

‘I’m afraid you do have to stick close to the young master for a while’, Godji sighed, knowing she promised her apprentice that she was going to get her out of the Manor as soon as Jennie’s theory had been proven, but for the benefit of her apprentice, she had to make a choice for the betterment of his future and someone fate was telling her that the young master was valuable for her apprentice.

‘Wait, Master Godji, aren’t you gonna help me?’

‘Help you with what?’

‘Look around… How do I stop this?’

‘Ah’, Master Godji nodded, taking a step back and smiling at him, ‘You did a good job with the time freezing spell, but I suggest not to do it if you don’t know how to undo it. But, once I perform the spell, why don’t you practice when you get back to the Manor.

‘How’re we gonna get back?’

Off’s master smiled at him, reaching her hand out and resting it on his cheeks before winking at him.

‘Tick Tok’, she whispered to him, clicking her fingers than all of a sudden, his vision was blurred, his reality ripped apart before being sewn together, colours clashing together before his head began to spin, forcing him to close his eyes and massaging his temples.

‘Master!’, he shouted, but when he opened his eyes, to his surprise, he was no longer at the town square but in fact inside the main living room of the Phunsawat Manor, standing beside the fire by the fireplace.

‘God, my head hurts’, he suddenly heard voices murmuring, footsteps heading towards him as the door opened. He froze in his spot, gripping the end of his sleeves as he awaits for the General to spot him, but instead, he saw the Phunsawat siblings walking in with their night gowns.

‘What are you still doing here with your outerwear still on?’, Love was the first to speak to him, ‘We arrived back almost an hour ago. You should hurry and change before father sees you and asked where you’ve been’

‘Yeah, you’ll blow our fucking cover’, Gun spat back, his eyes menacing and he bit his lip as if in disgust, ‘And don’t fucking come near me again’

Off was confused with how they got here and how the siblings didn’t notice that they had teleported back inside the Manor. He looked around, trying to look for his master, but all he felt was the heat of the fire beside his leg. He looked down after the siblings rushed to their chambers upstairs, looking down to see the outline of his master’s face in the flames.

‘You better thank me for saving your ass. Have you not learnt from your lesson? Never sneak out again’

‘Sorry’, hie whispered, leaning down a little, impressed by his master, ‘How did you send us back here?’

‘Keep close to your young master and you might have enough core power for you to try it soon’, she whispered, winking at him before disappearing into the flames and once again leaving him alone with a human family.

Too many things had happen within one night, but the only thing he couldn’t get rid of was the tingly feeling he felt when his lips accidentally pressed against the young master’s, and the pair of shocked eyes staring back at him in the process. With just one kiss, Gun was able to overwhelm him with powers he didn’t even know he had inside him. What more if they?...

‘No’, he shook his head and hit his forehead when his imagination started to go down that route, ‘With that idiot? No way. No way, no way, no way’, he kept muttering to himself as he left the main living room, heading to the ground floor where the servants chambers were, hitting his forehead again and again as he tried to get rid of that thought in his head, pushing it to the back of his mind and into the shadows. One kiss as enough for him. He didn’t need to be entangled any deeper to the young master, not when he still valued his dignity.

No. One kiss was enough. It was enough.

Was it?


	3. A Dumb Dog Drinks Bathwater.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **warning: fighting, monsters, blood**

It had been a fortnight since Off had accidentally frozen time and since then, he’d been struggling to do it again. Every night, he would sneak out of the Phunsawat Manor to return to his cottage, sitting down in his study room whilst Master Godji taught him new spells. At this point, he had already mastered simple incantations, however, Godji had been pushing him to learn harder ones, even forcing Jennie to teach him intricate and sophisticated potion making, which never turned out well, resulting in blown off roofs, changing hair colours and even talking mice for a period of time.

‘You did it before Off’, Master Godji sighed when she looked out of the window to find the trees still blowing, the chirping of the crickets to show that the world was still moving despite Off whispering the same spells over and over again.

‘I don’t know how I did it’, Off whined, leaning back on his chair and throwing his pen on the table, ‘I didn’t even say any spells back then’

‘Because you used your inner core’, Master Godji explained, leaning on the window sill and staring at her student, ‘You need to dig deep into your core and find that centre so you can use it as reins to control your powers. Right now, you’re leaving it untapped and unsupervised, which could be dangerous’

Off had listened to her lectures, taken dozens of notes about the anatomy of witches which are different from humans. He only recently found out that he had two hearts, one which beat in his chest blood to give life to his body, but another to beat magic which allows him to restore and master his witchcraft. He knew his human heart all too well, how it beats fast when he’s excitement, how it slowed when he felt saddened, but his witch heart? It was still a mystery to him.

‘You gotta know what your inner core wants’, Jennie walked into the room, interrupting their private lesson as she opened the door, her dress leaving behind a long trail. She looked at them excitedly, a witch in her element as she held up a small vial of potion, ‘Try this and see if it works’, she threw it at Off who caught it in one hand.

‘What is it?’, he asked.

‘Something that might make you stronger’, Jennie pointed out, vaguely explaining it as she urged the young witch to try it, watching carefully as Off took off the cork lid, downing it in one go and letting the sweetness run down his throat.

Master Godji looked curiously at her best friend, reading her smile as mischievous, a usual tale she’s encountered whenever Jennie wanted to try new things. She was an inventor as well as a witch, creating potions from her own knowledge and talents rather than following others, which was why she was suspicious, since all of Jennie’s work are unfamiliar to her. She waited, just as curious to see what Jennie had in store for her student, watching Off cough a little before closing his eyes and licking his lips.

‘Try the spell again’, Jennie commanded him and with the effect of the potion, Off nodded his head and closed his eyes, whispering the same spell Master Godji had taught him, fisting his hand to his side as he tried to concentrate.

Master Godji watched his intensity, hearing his soft voice whisper and she suspiciously looked back up at her best friend who grinned at her, pointing her finger behind. She turned around and looked out of the window, noticing how the chirping of the crickets stopped and when she squinted her eyes in the dark, she saw a leaf which fell from its branch but was still hanging in midair, suspended by the spell which stopped time.

‘You did it’, Master Godji whispered, turning back to look at her student who was now holding a small pocket watch which she had given him, seeing the hands stopped.

‘I did it’, Off repeated her words, beaming to himself as he looked up at Jennie with stars in his eyes, ‘I did it!’, he yelled again, standing up and hugging Jennie by the waist, ‘P’Jennie you did it!’

‘Glad I could help’, Jennie simply replied with a prideful smile on her face, patting his back and winking at her best friend who raised a brow at her, mouthing her endless questions but not wanting to disturb Off’s flow.

‘Off, why don’t you continue practicing how to continue the flow of time whilst I go and speak with Jennie’, Master Godji commanded him, walking over to grab her best friend’s wrist, dragging her out of the room and closing the door. She dragged her to the end of the hallway, letting go of her hand and crossing her arm once they were out of hearing from Off.

‘What did you put in that potion?’, she asked, tapping her foot impatiently, ‘And don’t give me your vague bullshit. I want real ingredients’

‘It’s a simply improving potion’, Jennie whispered back, ‘We use it all the time, fur of a white wolf mixed with the juice of bay leaves. You know the drill, it heightened our senses’

‘Not to the point where it can allow us to master spells as big as this one. That only helps are concentration and gets us in touch with our inner core’, Godji replied to her friend, not believing in her bullshit, ‘Now tell me, what else did you add in there?’

‘Well… The Phunsawat-’

‘YOU ADDED ROYAL BLOOD?’, Godji yelled as soon as that name escaped Jennie’s lips, her hair rising and turning into flames when the frustration quickly raised when she realised Jennie wasn’t just observing the royal blooded, but also extracting from them like they were some kind of animal.

‘Don’t be so over dramatic, I didn’t do that’, Jennie scoffed at such accusations, ‘Do you really think I would be one to drain such precious blood for one potion?’

‘Then what did you take from them?’

‘Just some specimen from his bathwater’

‘I beg your pardon?’, Godji raised her brow in shock, surprised at the answer. She was expecting maybe a strand of hair or nail clippings, but bathwater? That wasn’t a popular ingredient.

‘You told me he kissed the young master’, Jennie whispered excitedly, ‘Maybe he doesn’t just need to stay close to him… But maybe he-’

‘Don’t suggest what I think you’re suggesting’, Godji stopped her before she could even finish her sentence, pointing an accusing finger at her, ‘We’re already handling one taboo, we don’t need another’

‘Laying with a royal blood used to be the norm’, Jennie defended herself when her best friend glared at her, piercing blue eyes matching her flaming hair, ‘It would make us more powerful’

‘Witches don’t indulge with humans anymore’, Godji reminded her, ‘And we’re already at wit’s end trying to get Off accepted, what more if the council finds out if he’s connected with a human’

‘Royal blooded’

‘Either way, it’s a no’, Godji stopped her daydreaming, finding it too risky when they were too busy fighting one law to deconstruct from an already conservative council, ‘And don’t even try putting that idea in his head, otherwise we’ll all be dead’

The two witch had known each other for two centuries already, but no matter how many decades had passed them, they never saw eye to eye on everything, so Jennie huffed, folding her arms and glaring at Godji with a disappointed look. Master Godji may be a rebel in her ideology, but Jennie noticed her teaching were still conservative and somewhat reminiscent of the council’s traditions which she thought was the main reason why Godji’s previous apprentices never lasted long. But, then again, Off was Godji’s responsibility and she only hoped that he won’t share the same fate of the previous unfortunate souls.

* * *

Off managed to continue time after earning an infinite amount to master his new spells and enchantments, teleporting back to the small shed like room he was given which was in the lower ground floor of the Manor where all the other servants lived. There were no windows and Off could only enchant a spell of illumination, dozens of fireflies floating around the room whilst he wrote on his notebook.

‘Why’re you yawning?’, Gun looked up once Off prepared for the morning, walking into his young master’s room to serve him breakfast which was readily made, still steaming from the pan, ‘I recalled you retired early when I told you to leave me with my sister last night’

‘I was still working’, Off informed him, ‘I had to clean the kitchen’, which was a lie since he was a personal servant to Gun, which meant he didn’t need to do any house work apart from following the idiot around and saying yes to all his orders, but he couldn’t tell the young master that he had been sneaking back out to his cottage and learning magic.

‘Just say no next time’, Gun replied to him as he dug into his meal, ‘You’re my servant, not a house staff, you don’t need to do those work unless I tell you to’

‘Okay’, Off replied, yawning again. He had to stand beside Gun’s bed and wait for him to finish. He was not only tired, but hungry from the lack of meals he had been getting all week. With the busy nature of following Gun around, stopping him from making trouble and getting into fights, he had little time to sit down and eat a hefty meal, added onto the fact the servants only get the leftovers with a small slice of bread, he didn’t have enough food in his stomach to keep up with Gun’s immaturity and energetic behaviour, so often just letting him abuse him with harsh words and strong kicks and punches. He had been starving all his life, but when Master Godji rescued him from his fate and showered him with warm meals, it’s like his body wasn’t used to an empty stomach anymore.

He could smell the sausage and eggs, making his stomach growl. Master Godji had offered him food during the night, but he was so focused on his spells, the fried meat had turned cold and he had already rested his eyes for a quick nap before heading back to the Phunsawat Manor. In retrospect, he should have accepted Master Godji’s food when she offered. To feel hungry was something he could never get used to despite growing up an orphan, it wasn’t natural for a witch to go without energy, especially since he’s been using his inner core more often.

‘You okay?’, Gun asked when he looked up after hearing the growling noises which most certainly didn’t come from him. He looked up to find his foul mouth servant keeping his lips shut. The pink in his cheeks had long gone too, leaving his face hollow and sunken in as well as his tired eyes. He felt no sympathy for the tiredness of his servants since he was paying for their labour, but the fact that he couldn’t hear Off’s obnoxious bickering made him somewhat uncomfortable, as if he was staring at an empty shell rather than a real human.

‘What the hell has my father been ordering you to do without my permission?’, Gun asked, annoyed at how unresponsive Off was.

‘It’s none of your business’, Off managed to taunt him back, but he yawned again, trying not to let his head fall back as dizziness took over him, his body and soul forcing him to close his eyes and sleep, but he fought it through, just looking at the plate of unfinished food laying on his young master’s lap and letting the scent wake him up despite making him more hungry.

‘Here. Throw this out’, Gun shoved the plate at him as he stood up from his bed, stretching his arms as he walked to his comfort room to change.

‘Aren’t you going to finish it?’, Off asked as he watched Gun open the door and shrug his shoulders before slamming the door shut, leaving Off to clean his room and make his bed, but not before the young witch looked down at the barely touched plate of food before licking his lips and walking over to the table. It may sound disgusting, but he’d eaten worse leftover before, so he excitedly dug into his young master’s abandoned food, using his hands to fish out the rice and meat, stuffing it in his mouth until he couldn’t breath, chewing loudly and gulping every last grain.

He never understood how anyone could throw such precious food away when they could be giving it to someone like him who didn’t care much for his pride compared to fulfilling his empty stomach, but then again, he didn’t know much about the thoughts of the ruling class. He’d never given much thought about the way they lived and accepted the fact that they would always be different from him.

* * *

Love knew her brother like the back of her hand, but she also had a way of focusing on the wrong things, so when her brother acted more bratty than his usual behaviour, shouting at the servants and starting fights with the guards, she was wondering whether the kiss he shared with his servant was bugging him. Gun was in fact a man of virtue and dignity and to lay his lips on someone catastrophically below him was something he would detest. She did in fact made fun out of him constantly the night they came back, pouting her lips and making kissing noises when she passed her room, but Gun knew her well enough that she meant well. So, why was he acting like a bastard?

Sometimes a broken heart can show the worst side of a person and someone who was already a dickhead had turned astronomically worse, throwing the food in front of the chef’s face when it didn’t fit his taste, taunting and fighting back with their new governess whilst she was teaching and even sending a few of their own guards to the infirmary from his uncalled fights.

‘Enough is enough’, Love heard their father yell at Gun in the main living room. She hid in the hallways, leaning her back on the cold brick walls as she peaked from the cracks of the door, seeing her brother standing straight, facing their father with a poker face.

Their father, although tolerant, sat intimidatingly on his chair, his hand tapping on the rest as he growled at his eldest.

‘You’re not a scoundrel, you’re my first born. You better start acting like one’

‘Why can’t you have let me stayed in the Palace?’, Gun replied back with his own frustrated question, glaring at the reason for his current behaviour. Gun was not a filial son when it came down to it, shouting and fighting back with his father instead of bowing his head and following orders. It was probably because the General himself was lenient on him since he was a young boy, doting over his first child to the point where he got spoilt, crying when things didn’t work out his way.

‘If you did, then you would’ve gotten yourself killed’, his father simply replied with a monotone voice, used to Gun’s shrieks, ‘You were already causing trouble when I'm present, I’m not dumb enough to not know you’ll be worse with my absence’

‘Our talents are wasted here’, Gun continued to brave a fight, ‘We should be close to the capital, with the King’s Guard’

‘You should be lucky I’ve taken you away from the fight, otherwise you won’t see past your age. And plus, we’ve got better things handed to us here, a wealthy district, wide space and a Manor twice the size of our home in the capital’

‘Yet Love is moping in her room bored and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing if you won’t allow me to sit in your meetings’

‘You can sit when you’re ready to use your brain rather than your impulse’, his father rolled his eyes and looked down on his books, ‘Now, if you’re done acting like a child, I suggest you make yourself useful and stop tarnishing our reputation. You’ve already done that during the festival’

‘The servant boy was going to kill me’

‘And you let him live to keep talking about it’, his father sighed, ‘Don’t expect someone you imprisoned to talk nice words about you to the townspeople’

‘We don’t need their approval’

‘Unfortunately we do, unless you want to start a rebellion to which the King will never allow you to return and serve for him’

‘This is madness’, Gun kicked the stool before he stormed out of the main room, slamming the door shut behind him and stomping out into the front garden where no one was around. 

* * *

Off had just finished washing his young master’s clothes, lifting the bucket of damp clothing over his shoulder, heaving as the sun hit his face, turning his cheeks red, but he found no time to complain, moving pass the trails and straight into the garden where Pear had set up a drying rack for him to use. Gun was precise with his clothing, not wanting to wear it if it smelt too much like the sun, so he had to dry the beast’s clothes separate from the others.

He thought he’d be safe from Gun who was probably taking a beating from his father, so he whistled a song, humming to the tune as he began to hang up the young master’s clothes. After stealing Gun’s breakfast and even being given a freshly picked apple from one of the servants, Off was feeling much better, less tired and fragile.

But then of course, being in the Phunsawat Manor, he never should’ve expected the peace to stay. He heard grunting from ahead, as well as the strike of metal swinging in the wind and Off curiously turned to where the noise was, watching as his young master was pitifully hitting a nearby tree with his sword, chipping at the wood until the bark was bent and scarred, the tree almost topping over.

‘Master?’, Off called out, abandoning the wash for a second as he walked over towards the man, ‘What seems to be the matter?’

‘Go away’, Gun shouted back at him, ‘I’m busy’, he continued to tear the tree, using his sword to spike and chip the pieces of wood which fell around him.

‘Do you need me to do anything?’, Off asked again, not because he cared about Gun, but because he didn’t want to get into trouble if Gun was doing something he shouldn’t be.

‘Persuade my father to leave this place and go back to where we came from, can you do that?’, Gun yelled, and with each word, he struck another blow to the tree, again and again until finally Off took a step back in shock when the tree gave in, toppling over to the ground and landing with a loud thud against the grass.

There goes his shade to hang up Gun’s clothes…

‘See to it that the guards take care of this’, Gun heaved, breathing heavily after using all his strength to anguish his frustration, putting away his sword and wiping his forehead from the sweat which glistened. Gun didn’t even bother to look at his servant, pushing pass him and turning back to the Manor where his prisoned chambers were waiting for him, his skills buried in a chest and laid to rot after leaving the King’s Guard for his father’s pitiful so-called promotion.

Off, who never once would’ve cared if countless of trees were chopped off and burnt, but after living in the forest with Master Godji and Jennie for three summers, he had started to hear the leaves singing, whispering to each other as he passed by the path in the morning on the way to town. He knelt down on the ground, letting his palm hold onto the freshly cut wood, feeling the heat of the metal and closing his eyes. 

Off bundled Gun’s clothes back onto the basket, looking for another shaded area to dry it, walking away to find a tree missing, but from its spot, grew a short sprout, bright green leaves shining when the sunlight hits it.

* * *

Jennie analysed the General’s children, peering through her glasses which were made from glass fibres from the magic realm, showing her colours of emotions from each person she’s facing. Hues of faint white and blues followed the youngest around, showing boredom and sadness whilst she read by herself beside the window sill of the library.

But what interested her most was the eldest, in his complicated glory, he sat with his leg up on the table, doodling all over his books with a bored expression. His head was filled with red rage, but his chest was blue, sadness and longing, it was a typical mixture of emotion tied together with heartbreak and she wondered how the so called Silver Beast could feel such vulnerable emotions and to whom? Who would be able to pierce his cold heart and let all these colours out for her to see?

She usually listened to Godji, because her best friend was knowledgable and scary, so she feared of what Godji’s reaction would be if she refused to follow orders, but she had attended her best friend in her quest to find a strong half blood that could change the traditions they’d been trying to break for centuries, every mission failing miserably. Maybe it was time for someone to break the cycle and try something new? If Off was able to wield his powers whilst working together with a human, it might change the council’s perspective of humanity as weak and fragile, they no longer will associate human blood as a waste. With that being said, she wondered just how could Off possibly make use of the royal blood at his disposal and her eyes immediately gleam when she continued to stare at Gun, watching his colours grow stronger, saturating her view.

‘I’m afraid I have to end our lessons early today’, she announced, closing her book and straightening her posture, ‘There’s a towns meeting this evening, all abled men and women are encouraged to come and help’

‘Help with what?’, Love asked as she closed her book.

‘I’m afraid that information is disclosed even to me’, Jennie sighed, bowing her head and picking up her satchel, ‘But I’m sure the noble family are not in any interest to know the workings of the common folk, so I won’t bore you with the details’, she said before departing, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’, before she closed the door, she whispered a small enchantment, a scent of persuasion which became a beckoning voice that triggered new ideas in Gun’s mind.

‘A towns meeting huh?’, Gun closed his book and smirked, throwing the leather bounded pages onto the table before walking out the library.

* * *

_Take care of your young master._

Off heard Jennie whispering inside his head whilst he was cleaning the gutters underground, heaving a bucket of waste and faeces whilst his white shirt were stained in black and brown marks.

‘What?’, he whispered, trying to reach out to Jennie, but he was too tired, his energy wasted and unable to form his own spell, so he shook his head and continued with his work. The General had been eyeing him as of late, making sure his steps weren’t suspicious, it was hard to accept a troublemaker as a servant in his household, so Off made sure not to cause any misunderstandings in an attempt to gain favour from the head of the noble household.

Tediously, he finished each of his task, ticking them off one by one until his hair was matted with mud and dirt, his skin scarred and red from the lifting, splintered from carrying wood, shirt drenched in sweat and shit. By the time he arrived at the communal wash, the other servants grimaced and gagged at the sight of him, pinching their noses and leaving the bathtub quickly.

‘Here’, Pear, the only one who decided to stay behind, passed him half a bar of soap and folded clothes, ‘They’re tattered but they should fit you well enough’

‘Thanks’, Off smiled at her, grabbing the clean clothes and setting it beside his tub.

‘Most of us have retired to our chambers, so I’m afraid there’s no more warm water left’, Pear informed him as she packed her belongings away in a small sack bag.

‘It’s okay’, Off shook his head and smiled back at the small servant girl, ‘You’ve done enough already. Thank you’

‘Rest well’, she replied, ‘Tomorrow won’t promise better treatment’

‘I will’, the two young servants found solace in each other for a few minutes before Pear decided to retire for the night also, leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind her, leaving Off to undress himself, casting a warming spell as he dipped inside the boiling hot waters with a sigh of relief. His muscles immediately relaxed, the dirt being lifted off his reddening skin.

Off didn’t say a word, just finding peace in the calmness of the waters as he wiped the dirt off his body and let his head rest ok the edge of the tub whilst he slowly fell asleep. He needn't worry about the young master who was sent to his chambers early after defying his father again, so he took his time, sensing himself falling into slumber as the night rolled in.

He felt the moonlight touch his warm skin, the windows wide open and for a moment, he felt at peace.

But then, he was in fact in the Phunsawat Manor, so any form of calmness was a temporary feeling.

All of a sudden he saw a silhouette blocking the moonlight from him and he turned his face to watch a small figure sneaking out towards the back garden with a hoodie cloak flowing behind him.

Off started to chuckled, wondering what servant would sneak off into the night. But then again, no servant owned a hooded cloak, not golden embroided ones that still shun even in the dark.

'You have got to be kidding me', Off whispered when he realised who exactly the silhouette belonged to, standing up from tub and whispering a spell for his vision to clear up, taking a form of an owl's vision, he watched as the figure turned, Gun's face being seen as clear as day, 'For fuck's sake!', he shouted, grabbing his clothes as he leapt out of the tub, trying himself as fast as he could whilst he put on his shorts and shirt, running out of the communal bath and out into the garden where he could still feel his young master's footprints embedded on the grass.

* * *

The towns meeting intrigued Gun and he wasn't going to let his father stop him from having fun. He didn't spend his entire life cultivating numerous skills only to be dumped in the country and forbidden to use them. No, whatever the town had prepared for the night, he wanted to be part of it.

Gun Atthaphan was a warrior trapped in a glass case, only for show and he hated it. He had fought bigger battles and won them all, his father didn't know what he was saying when he told him he saved him. He didn't need saving. And even if he was to die, he'd rather die in battle with his honour than of old age in a bed outside the palace.

'Young master?! Young master! Wait up! Wait!', Gun almost tripped when he heard a voice shouting towards him. He quickly pulled out his sword, turning around and raising it to where the shadow was.

But then when the moonlight hit, he recognised his servant with his shaky arms raised up, his hair damp and eyes widely staring at him.

'Where the hell do you think you're going?', Off asked him, turning back to his boisterous self and cursing at his master without permission. Gun smirked when his servant had turned back to normal yet Off couldn't have picked a worse time to be himself.

'Stop being so loud', he warned him, 'I'm trying to sneak out'

'I can see that', Off rolled his eyes, 'Aren't you supposed to be getting to your father's good side? Why the hell would you be sneaking around?'

'I don't care about my father', Gun rolled his eyes as he retracted his sword, 'I wanna know what the towns meeting is about'

'What towns meeting?', Off raised a brow and continued to follow him when Gun showed no signs of stopping, 'We towns people aren't organised to hold meeting unless it's an emergency'

'Good, then this one might be meaningful'

'What one? There's no meeting', Off tried to explain, but the former looked like he wasn't paying attention, passing through the forest once they successfully departed from the Manor which was a surprise since they didn't take the secret passage way. But then Off remembered they were short on staff since Gun sent most of the guards to the infirmary this week.

'Governess Jennie told me', Gun told Off to shut him up, 'She said abled men and women are called to the town square'

'P'Jennie?', Off whispered nervously at the mention of the witch. Jennie may be playful, more than Master Godji, but she wasn't a prankster. To send Gun back to town must've meant something, so he decided to give in, letting Gun walk towards the town which was still brightly lit despite it being the dead of night already.

_Why did Jennie need Gun to be in town tonight?_

It didn't make sense that the witch didn't consult him about her plan. But Jennie and Master Godji weren't witches to be too informative on their plans in the first place, so he kept close with Gun, staying right beside him in silence as they made their way to the cobbled stones of the town.

'Why're you standing so close? Move', Gun pushed him away when their shoulders brushed slightly, making Off almost trip over himself.

'I'm supposed to protect you', Off rubbed his arm from the push, glaring at the short master.

'I don't need protecting', Gun snorted, 'I've fought in battles you'd never survive in'

'Oh boo hoo', Off scoffed at his prideful showing off, 'You can't even bathe without my help', he pointed out.

'A warrior doesn't waste their time over mindless things', Gun bit back, 'Not when I can just have my servant do it for me'

'So much for strength when you can't even take care of yourself'

'I am well capable in doing so!', Gun raised his voice and shoved Off back again, wanting to draw out his sword and teach Off a lesson, 'I am more than-'

'Wait, shut up!', Off shushed him as he looked around the empty streets.

'How dare you silence me? I-'

'Shut up! Did you hear that?', his servant interrupted him once more, reaching out to grip at his wrist, forcing Gun to stop talking as they pair stayed silent, their feet frozen on the cobbled stone.

'I don't hear anything', Gun replied.

'Exactly', Off whispered nervously, 'No town can be this quiet this time of night', he turned around to see the brightly lit street lamps, yet not a living soul could be found roaming in the town square. It was different from when they last visited where the streets was mounted with dozens of dancing men and women, drunkards and laughing children. Even in work days, the common folk found solace in bars, muffled noises of singing and brawls being heard from miles away.

'Where is everyone?', Gun asked once he realised what Off was implying, walking out towards the town hall where the lights were dimmed and soulless. For a towns meeting, there were no people present.

'Master… I think we need to leave', Off whispered to Gun, trying to pull him back to the direction of the Manor, yet Gun stood in his place, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword as he squinted his eyes into the distance, watching the stilled shadows begin to dance.

Off was a witch, but he was also human, fear was starting to rise in him when he heard the howling of wolves along with the strong shrills of the wind. Nothing felt right, it was as if they had entered a different world from theirs.

'Master…', Off whispered again, his voice trembling from the cold and fear, 'Master Gun, I beg you, please let's go'

'What the hell is that?', Gun whispered when he walked over to the end of the street where the shadows continued to dance.

Off turned to where Gun was looking, standing behind him, shaking like a wet dog as he tugged his master's sleeves. He could see it too, shadows of what looked like people yet flowing like water coming towards them.

'They're not human', Gun gasped, taking out his sword, almost at his height, as he raced towards one of the shadows.

'Master! Wait!', Off shouted for him, not knowing whether it was a good idea to jump head first into the unknown, 'Illuminate!', he shouted a spell, pushing his hand out to emit a bright light to which shun behind Gun, only to bring into light a beast that was unlike human.

'Holy shit', Gun whispered after seeing the form for the first time. It had the anatomy of a human, yet its body was larger, its head twice the size of the average human, teeth sharpened like a wolf and it's hands… They weren't hands at all, but claws with nails as sharp as his sword.

'Master run!', Off shouted, but Gun did the exact opposite. He struck the beat with one blow, hearing the loud whining from the monster before it raised its claws in an attempt to fight back.

'Prohibite!', he shouted another spell, which froze the monster's claws from injuring his master as he ran towards Gun.

The Silver Beast himself took this chance to swing his sword again, using all his strength to strike the monster, piercing his silver sword into its body.

'Master, we need to fucking leave now!', Off shouted, pulling his arm back only for Gun to push him out of the way.

'There are monsters in the town. Do you expect me to let them roam free and kill the people?'

'Do you actually have any care for the common folk?', Off shouted back at him as he stood back up and pushed Gun. They could still hear the monster yapping in pain, but Gun's strike had been severe, the monster falling helplessly to the ground, 'Or are you just treating this like some kind of game?'

'What the hell do you think will happen if there's no more people to rule over?', Gun yelled back, not noticing the shining yellow blood on his sword that seemed to cry out, vibrating the winds and crying for help, 'I may not see myself equal to you commoners, but my job is still to protect you nonetheless. And I'm not gonna let these beasts run around the town whilst I'm here'

'We need to call for back up. These… They're not human', Off pointed on the fallen monster.

'I've killed one', Gun also pointed at him, watching the yellow blood trickel down, 'I can't surely kill another'

And like a signal, his words were flushed out by loud snarling, the pair turning back to the shadows where the found more of these monsters walking towards their, their teeth sharp and barking at them like wolves.

From this view, Off could count more than a dozen and he cursed at the wind and glared at his master, 'Look what you've done! You've killed one of their own and now they're after us!'

'We'll be fine', Gun nodded, swinging his sword up as he prepared for the attack, 'I've done this before'

'With half wolves?!', Off shouted, disbelief at how Gun still managed to have the confidence of a king in a time of crisis.

'Well, close enough', Gun whispered and Off didn't have time to argue back when he watched his young master race towards the streets, his sword singing behind him.

'Fucking hell', Off ran the other way, hiding behind one of the walls as he heard the clanking of metal, hearing it pierce through flesh whilst the monsters howled, 'P'Jennie! Master Godji! A little help here!', he shouted to his superior, banging on the walls and using all his energy to send a beam of help to them.

'Woah, you seem stressed'

'P'Jennie! Oh thank god you're here!', Off sighed when he turned to find the witch standing behind him. She looked down expressionless, her hands on her hips, 'I don't know what to do! These things just popped out of nowhere!', he pointed back to the monsters who had now ganged up on gang, jumping from the walls with their claws out, 'Please, I can't let the master die!'

'So this was the human waste Godji's been protecting', Jennie looked down on him and sighed. Her voice was the same yet everything else seemed different. Off took a step back and took a longer look at Jennie.

'Wait… Who are you?', his voice stammered when he realised that the witch in front of him wasn't the one who's been taking care of him, 'You're not Jennie…'

'Jennie? God, don't compare me to that dog', the witch laughed, scaring Off as she continued to below in delight, her nails growing longer, turning into sharp claws as her eyes changed into burning yellow, 'I always wanted a closer look on Godji's recent prized possession. Such a shame, you're so underwhelming'

'Oh shit', Off gasped when the figure shifted from Jennie into someone else, bones cracking and voice shrieking in both pain and pleasure. Their limbs had grown longer and skinnier, skin hollow and green, hair long and black but coiled and burnt like wood.

'It'll be so much fun to kill her new dog', the voice was now raspy and bitter, a smile which split her face in half as she reached her claws out to grab bim.

'Murus!', he shouted a spell which created a barrier between them, allowing Off to run towards the fight, 'Master Gun!', he shouted when he noticed the monsters ganging their way to Gun who had swung his sword in every direction yet couldn't get the monsters off him.

This was not okay. Off needed to do something, but he didn't know what. He knew how to warm up water, to create a potion to better his sleep but he'd never been taught how to handle a fight, let alone a fight with a witch a dozens of half wolf men.

'Let the flow of time stop', he whispered the enchantment that he'd recently mastered, closing his eyes and fisting his hands whilst he tried to focus, 'Let the flow of time stop!', he shouted again and for a split second, time became frozen, giving him a pocket to space to run towards his master, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him out of the piling monsters that had began to claw at his skin, his arms and legs scratched and bleeding already.

But the pressure was too intense and only after a few seconds, time began to flow again, letting the monsters race to them again.

'Freezing time, huh?', he heard the witch behind them snickered, 'At least she taught you one good thing. But that won't be enough to stop my babies', she snarled at him whilst she clawed the barrier, scratching it off bit by bit, 'You're going to die along with that human'

'We need reinforcement', Gun breathed heavily, the pair running away to by themselves some time.

'What we need is to escape now!', Off shouted.

'You know how to fight right?', Gun yelled at him as they found themselves inside an abandoned blacksmiths, the young master looking around at the weapons hung on the walls. He grabbed an axe, throwing it at Off who heaved when he felt the large weight of the weapon, 'Stay on my left and keep me guarded', he commanded his servant who only looked at him with wide frightened eyes.

'I've fought you, I've never fought anyone else!', Off shouted, following Gun as be grabbed a bow and sack of arrows from the stash, leaning his back on the wall as he turned his head to peek into the distance where he saw the monsters running in their direction.

'Just stay calm and swing. I'll be on your right so you don't have to worry', Gun was different right now. He wasn't the spoilt brat Off knew, he was a precise commander and with one swift movement, he brought the arrow against his bow and striked into the air, letting the sharp end pierce one of the monsters of the roof keeping watch, hearing its yelp of pain before it fell to the ground, 'Once they come closer to us, we attack', he said as he took another arrow and shot it directly into another monster's eye.

'This is… I'm… I can't… I…', Off was freaking out. He had a witch under his tail that was slowly breaking through the barrier, dozens of monsters trying to kill him and a royal blood he had to protect all whilst he tried not to spiral down in panic.

_Master Godji, now's a really good time to help!_

'Come on, let's go!', Gun shouted as he dropped the bow and brought his sword out again when the shadows grew bigger towards them, 'Now!'

'Fuck!', Off yelled as he closed his eyes and followed his young master, swinging the axe around in hopes that it might hit something, anything at this point.

'To your left!', Gun shouted, hearing his commands and finding the courage to open his eyes and see the human heads with wolf teeth biting at him, only for him to swing his axe and cut their heads off, letting it land on the ground with a loud thud.

'I'm not cut out for this!', he shouted, using his brute strength to get through the piling monster, cutting off limbs and smelling blood land on him, sticky and warm.

'Humans think they're so strong yet here they are, struggling over the bare minimum', Off could hear the playful laughs of the unknown witch and his hands shook in fear when he saw the shadow walking towards them, 'Its almost too easy', she whispered and Off knew that what she had was way worse than these monsters and if they ever wanted to see morning, Off had to defeat the witch first.

'Secare!', he shouted a spell which he only read in ancient books in Jennie's library, yet the piercing white light emitted from his fingers, turning into dozens of knives which pierced through the shadows that were looming over them, 'Secare ultimate!', he shouted again and again, this time sending thousands of sharp shrapnels around the air, directing it to the shadows around them.

Gun, who had swung his last monster gasped when he turned to find the metal spinning around them, flying across town with no owner.

'What the…', he'd been too busy fighting the monsters to hear Off's shouts of spells and enchantments, yet with only a second to catch his breath, he found himself finally setting eyes on the sheer power of his servant.

'You think you can stop me? A half human like you?', the witch continued to sneer, 'Think again! Filthy human!'

'Off, what the fuck is going on?', he turned to shout at his servant, commanding an answer yet his servant pulled him back.

'Shut up', Off replied to him, closing his eyes and focusing as he whispered another spell, one which he hadn't tried yet since Master Godji told him he wasn't ready yet, 'Occido Venefica'

'What the hell are you doing?', Gun shoved away when a monster raced towards him, swinging his sword and beheading it in one go.

'Occido Venefica!', he kept on shouting, but nothing happened, not even when he spat out blood after forcing his inner core to use up all it's energy. It was no use, he didn't know how to balance his human and witch heart yet and no matter how he tried, the spell just didn't seem to work.

But then remembered the last time he was in the town square with the young master. He was able to master he hadn't even learnt yet and although he hated the idea, Gun had royal blood that heightened his powers whether he liked it or not.

'Master, please don't kill me, but can I kiss you?'

'What?!'

'Please Master, I'll explain everything later, but right now I need you'

'Now's not the time to be pleasuring yourself. We need to kill these beasts!'

'And I will, I promise, I will just kiss me', Off pulled Gun by the arm, staring down at him and without a second to lose, he leaned his head in, pressing his lips on Gun's soft ones.

His master's eyes were round and wide, staring at him with shock, yet Off couldn't help but lean in closer, feeling his powers surge in only a matter of seconds.

'What did you just do?', Gun gasped, pulling back and watching Off close his eyes and begin to whisper. Last time he was drunk and out of his kind to feel anything, but now, with the rush of death knocking on their door, Gun's lips felt more than warm, it was burning hot and his skin crawling with something different, something more powerful than he'd ever felt before.

'Occido Venefica!', Off yelled again, pushing his hands out to where a bright red beam lit from his palm, pushing away all the monsters coming after them as it shined on the shadow behind it all, puppeting every monster under her grasps.

Gun looked up to find a figure flying in the wind, her hair made out if wires which had began to burn as her eyes pierced daggers towards them, shouting in pain whilst Off beamed a spell towards her.

This was the moment he saw his servant, who was no longer weak nor frightened, but strong and yielding powers he never knew existed in this world.

'A witch?', he gasped when he realised Off was using magic to deflect all their enemies until their skin was burning with red flames, yelping and melting to the ground before they turned into ashes, disappearing with the wind.

Off felt blood trickling down his nose, his vision blurred and his head spinning once the spell ended. The last thing he saw was the small fragments of the witch turning into dust before he fell to the ground with his last remnants of energy slowly dispersing from his body.

'Off… Off…', he heard his name being called out, yet he didn't have the energy to reply. He just wanted to close his eyes and lay on the warm pillows in his room in the cottage hidden in the forest. Was that too much to ask?

* * *

The morning sun was friendly to Off, kissing his cold skin as he stirred awake. His muscles were aching, throbbing when he moved even the slightest. His brows were scrunched, his skin wrinkling when he frowned in pain. Yet he was surrounded in warmth and softness, a thick blanket around him.

He just wanted to continue dreaming of the same soft sheets and sweet oranges that he ate every morning in the forest with P'Jennie and Master Godji by his side.

But all good things come to an end and he found his mind being binded back to reality where he fluttered his eyes open to find himself in the walls of the Phunsawat Manor.

'Mhhm', he whined as he tried to look up, only to be pierced with pain.

'Looks like this is the first time you fought anything', he heard a voice welcoming him to a new day and he quickly shifted his eyes to where it landed on a chair placed beside the bed, his young master leaning back on it, shaving the skin off an apple with his knife before taking a bite.

'Young master… What happened?', Off whispered, his voice broken and hoarse, 'How did we get back?'

'Well, after you collapsed, I carried you back into the Manor using the secret passage way and settled you down. Your wounds are cared by by Love who was the only person who knew we ran off into the night. She didn't ask me what injured us, probably thinking that we had a brawl with the townspeople'

'Did we?', Off asked, forgetting fragments of what happened last night and only remembering the sound of metal swinging in the air.

'No, we didn't', Gun bluntly replied to him, this time setting the knife down on the end of the bed where his feet was. That was when Off noticed that his feet were tired together, along with his hands which laid on his stomach, tried together with rope, 'This morning, my father's guards walked around the town to find no signs of dead monsters. I didn't bother to tell my dad just in case he might think I've gone mad, but as I recall, all the beasts that we slain all turned into dust along with whatever shadow woman you were fighting all because you said a few words'

'Oh shit', Off sighed when he finally pieced everything together, remembering the kiss they shared which heightened his powers enough to kill a fellow witch.

'Oh shit indeed', Gun sighed as he wiped his thumb across his lips, still feeling the heat of Off's against it, 'Now you can tell me what the hell you are, or I can have you executed'

'Why would you? I saved your fucking life!', Off shouted, trying to break free from his bond, but Gun was quick in his actions, picking up his knife again and pressing it on Off's neck.

'Don't try anything with me and just answer my question', Gun growled, 'What are you?'

'What the hell do you think I am?', Off spat out when he felt Gun's threatening tone, 'I used my magic to save you. You should be thanking me, not tying me up!'

'So you are a witch', Gun gasped, looking down on his servant who had taken over his bed, 'I thought your kind was extinct'

'I didn't even know my kind existed until recently'

'What do you mean? Is there more of you?', his young master asked and this was where Off kept his mouth shut. Master Godji was going to kill him for spilling his secret, what he didn't need was to spill hers too.

'No', he shook his head, 'I'm the only one'

'You better not be lying to me', Gun warned him, pressing the knife a little deeper.

'Would I end up as your fucking servant if I truly wasn't the only one?', Off spat out, using his energy to kick Gun's legs, only for the latter to grab it and keep him in place, his face leaning down.

'Why would a witch need to kiss me to use a spell?', Gun asked now that his curiosity had been answered, one which burnt him all night long as he sat wide awake looking at his servant. He couldn't erase what he had seen, not even if he wanted to, but more importantly, he couldn't erase what he felt. It was a simple kiss which only lasted seconds, yet it left him breathless and burning all through out the night, as if it opened some kind of power he didn't know he had, 'What are you using me for, witch?'

'Don't flatter yourself', Off replied, 'I just needed some strength from any human near me'

'Why? You're a witch. Why do you need humans?'

'You wouldn't understand witchcraft. Why bother explaining it to you?'

'Then indulge me', Gun whispered, his breath soft against his ears, making Off shudder, 'Why do you need humans?'

'Because…', Off stuttered, trying to get Gun off him, but he was bounded and Gun was still stronger, 'Humans are much more powerful than they think', he couldn't think of a lie, not on the spot, and he had hoped his answer was enough for Gun to believe him, at least for the time being.

'You kissed me because you needed human power?'

'I was up against monsters. I couldn't stand against it alone'

'So what am I now? Your lackey?', Gun growled at the word, feeling inferior over Off for the first time, 'You use me however you feel like?'

'Now you know how I feel'

'I'm not supposed to know', Gun bit back, stepping away and sitting back down on his chair, 'I can have you killed'

'You can't kill me for being a witch. There's no law in the kingdom which forbid the practice of magic'

'That's because we didn't know magic still existed', Gun replied, but there was a spark in his eyes when he realised what this information might mean, 'But if I show you to the King, he'll realise that I've offered him a powerful weapon and he'll have to invite me back to the Palace'

'Wait, what?', Off asked when he listened to Gun's train of thoughts, writhing out of his ropes, 'Wait, no don't do that'

'The first to gift the king of a powerful witch. I'll be made into commander of my own army soon. I'll be back in the Palace where I belong and far away from this dump. It's all too perfect!'

'Master Gun let's think this through', Off shouted at him when he stood up, 'I don't think I'm fit to be a King's servant, I'm barely fit to be yours. Can't we think of another alternative?'

'No. You're my ticket out of here', Gun smirked at him, standing up from his chair and heading towards the door, 'I don't care what happens to you. I just wanna get out of here'

'Please! No one else can know! I beg of you! They might kill me! Please!', Off whispered a small reversal spell, untying the ropes around him as he stood up to stop Gun, only to fall to the ground. His injuries were far from healed and amateurly bandaged, bleeding through the cloth. He knelt on the wooden floor, his hand reaching out to tug Gun's trousers, 'I beg you, I'm not an animal you can just trade for your place in the Palace. I'm a human too'

'No, you're a witch'

'Look at me', Off begged, tugging his clothes, 'Do I not look human to you? Do I not deserve my own say in my own life?', his wounds were bleeding through, reopening from the sudden movement and he felt himself weaken, 'Please, for once, can you take pity on me?'

Gun looked down. He had never taken pity on anyone, not even his fallen soldiers after the end of a gruelling battle.

Yet the blood seeping from the bandages made Off look weak and vulnerable. Then he remembered their rush kiss and how much power Off hid inside him. He was the weakest yet strongest person he ever laid his eyes on and he was intrigued for sure.

Off didn't get to hear his answer, collaping on the ground for the second time, fainting when the pain became too much for him.

'Love!', Gun suddenly shouted for his sister, 'Love, help me!'

'Is it Off again?'

'Yeah'

'You need to stop dragging him to your troubles', his sister rushed into his chambers and looked down on the poor man, 'Look at him, he's stricken and cold. If we don't get a real physician, his wounds will get infected and he'll die'

A witch die? In his presence? Not if he can help it.

'Then call mother. She's the best physician in town', Gun whispered, staring as Love carried the unconscious witch back on the bed, resting her hand on his forehead.

His one way ticket out of here was on the brink of death. He didn't know whether to focus on his new plan or to finally exercise the sympathy everyone's been telling him to have. But all he could think of was the knight who kept him up awake, Oabnithi, someone who he still cherished and wanted to get back to.

Gun needed to keep Off alive so he can return to Oab. That was the plan right now.

'Mother! Mother help us! Off's hurt!'


End file.
